A Piano's Requiem
by phantomdare1
Summary: Fate should never be changed. When the Earl is told of his defeat, he does everything to kill his enemies, even if it means changing history itself. However, one can never rewrite reality, and the keepers of the time will never allow the Earl to have his way. In an entirely strange place with familiar people, the Vongola must restore it all to what is right.
1. Let the World Crumble To Our Feet

**A Piano's Requiem**

**Ch 01 – Let the World Crumble to Our Feet**

* * *

Gokudera sighed as he rested his hands on the smooth black and white keys of the well-polished grand piano at the Vongola base in Namimori. When Bianchi woke him up in this very room a week ago, he had visited this place only for the piano. It wasn't usual for him to get time to relax when the anticipated invasion of Melone Base would come. Tsuna had run off for a short while to find Lambo, and the baseball idiot followed as well. The teenage bomber even offered to help, but Tsuna nervously refused and allowed him some solace in the meantime. He was itching to play a good piano piece for his Tenth, one he vowed to follow to the very ends of the earth.

His hands touched the keys with a single step by step motion as he tested out the scales. The piano's echoes were rather hollow and very comforting for him. He tried a set of more scales, from Middle C to another octave, and then suddenly his hands stopped midway another scale. Gokudera gasped, realizing a spark danced in his head. His hands absentmindedly crawl up to the A key in the second octave, and then they began a song, a strange one, to be exact.

The way the notes had felt so familiar made the sensation of listening to himself play feel breathtaking, and Gokudera urged himself to continue playing the song, not wishing it to stop. By far, it had been the most beautiful piece of music he'd ever heard, haunting, yet fascinating. Strange enough, he didn't know how he was able to know such a mysterious tune, as if it had been in his head the whole time.

Then he remembered he had heard this before. He remembered playing this song by himself when he was only four. The child prodigy he had been, he had been congratulated by his father and stepmother, even his sister who offered cookies, which he adamantly refused. He remembered when the maids would stop in their tracks when he played this song, and craned their necks past the edge of the door to see him, concentrated in his work. He liked it, not the attention he received whenever he played this, but how notes meshed well together. He played it again and again, loving the sound, and the joy everyone around felt. Until, one day, his real mother had come on his birthday once every year.

Back then, he didn't even know she was his true mother, and he would always address her as the kind woman who knew a lot about the piano. He remembered, after a whole year of staying apart from her, he had been trying to play the song that charmed everyone in the mansion over and over to get this piece up at top-notch. He remembered playing it, and from the corner of his eye, he saw that his mother smiled, but then when he finished, she turned slightly pale at what he had done.

_"Teacher?" He had asked. "Why are you so pale?"_

The woman stayed still for a moment in her seat when she chuckled. Yet the grimacing haunt did not fade away from her eyes.

_"It's amazing…" She began. "That you know this music piece… It's very rare, you know… only a few people know it… more likely, and those people are long gone by now… I didn't think I would hear it again…"_

Gokudera's youthful eyes raised in question, and the woman then smiled.

_"My great-grandfather was a pianist, just as talented as you. His most famous piece in the family was that one you played…"_

The naïve boy's curiosity got the best of him.

_"What does he look like?"_

_The woman laughed even more. "Well, he had white hair, but he's been like that at a really young age, as my mother had said. He liked to eat a lot, even though he was still rather slim and skinny after that. More enough, whenever I was around him, he was very kind, and soft-spoken… But what was strange was… his face… had a scar… a red one… it ran right down his cheek right there."_

She pinched Gokudera's left cheek playfully, and the boy giggled. "He even had a star shaped scar on his forehead. And also, he wore gloves all the time, and he would never tell me why…"

Gokudera was intrigued until the woman placed a hand on his shoulder.

_"If you love this song so much…" She said. "Play it for your friends when you get older, clear?"_

_The boy beamed. "Definitely, teacher!"_

However, once the news broke out about the teacher's death, Gokudera had run away from home, and whenever he roamed the streets of Sicily, he saw a beat up piano in the corner. He stared and stared, but then he would always turn away. It reminded him too much about his mother. He couldn't possibly play it without his eyes welling.

Even till now, he had been given many opportunities to play that piece. He had longed to play the strange music piece to his beloved Tenth, and maybe baseball idiot, but that wasn't the point. Whenever he tried to play it, something held him back from doing so, and he resorted to something different.

But here he was, playing the song again ever since twelve years. He loved the sound again, and he didn't bother to stop until five minutes later. His eyes followed the still keys to a rather impressed form of his boss.

"T-tenth!" Gokudera stuttered. Tsuna's gaping mouth closed, and turned into a friendly grin.

"That was amazing, Gokudera-kun…" Tsuna sat down beside him on the piano chair. Gokudera felt even happier by the minute.

"Say… I think that song is familiar." Tsuna stated, and Gokudera looked shocked.

"Really?"

Tsuna nodded cheerily. "I had it in a dream once, and I saw a strange boy in a high white tower, playing a white piano, the same exact song… He had white hair, a red scar on his face, and he wore a black overcoat… crazy, huh."

"N-no! Tenth! It's okay!" Gokudera smiled exasperatedly. "I had that dream, too! You know…"

"I see..." Tsuna smiled, and then he looked at the piano again. "Gokudera-kun?"

"Hn?"

"I have a question…"

"Fire away, Tenth! I'm always ready!"

"Ano… That dream… that boy… somehow once I remember… he looked just like you… scratch out the white hair and suit though…"

"Really?" Gokudera continued to act. Tsuna nodded.

"Hey, it's dinner now," Gokudera helped Tsuna up. "The crazy woman will be angry if we don't come."

"Ne, Haru will be fine…" Tsuna smiled, and they left. Meanwhile, Bianchi and Reborn were peering through a trapdoor. Reborn sighed, and Bianchi looked worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Bianchi… It's just… It's been two centuries since that happened, huh… He had lived that long… I wonder if you're proud of your grandchildren, Allen Walker…"

* * *

_An eerie laughter echoed amongst the dark walls of what once was the Black Order just a few hours ago, and the sound of this unnatural phenomenon was enough to make one's bones shake in an instant. Drips of red blood pounded the floor in a light drizzle of red, and the floors were scattered with a million corpses._

_"I've done it!" A voice shouted cacophonously. "I've stopped his words!"_

_Here stood Adam, his once pristine white overcoat splattered in red, the tears of fabric marring his once better appearance. His top hat, decorated with bones and skulls at the rim, was set aside, never to be used again after someone had knocked it off his very head. The Earl's face was widespread with a massive grin, one of the greatest satisfaction he could ever receive._

_The man was standing over a body of a dead one, blue hair splayed, and his white clothing torn to shreds. His glasses were broken and bent and sat atop the rim of his nose, and his bloody beret was lobbing off the side of his head. This was the commander of the Black Order's defense when he came, and the Earl was all the more happy to kill him off first. It was a beautiful sight, killing the man at the top, and then picking off the others at the bottom, one by one._

_How should he remember it? Adam recalled encountering that girl with the dark red boots, completely distraught at the sight of her deceased brother. In a fit of rage, she attempted to match him in battle, but it wasn't long before her own legs were taken from her, and then her arms, and then her head. Adam did wish this girl knew better than to fight against him, otherwise, she would have been spared._

_Now that he had eliminated all of the Black Order, he was to search for the final target: Allen Walker._

_Meanwhile, amidst the aftermath of bloodshed, a different young girl stood, her ruffled dress not yet tarnished by the sanguine sea, a pumpkin adorned umbrella keeping her above the ground. She decided to finally here, striped stockings touching the small splotch of clean tiles. Her eyes were completely dead, as she began to immerse her toes on the wet floor._

_"Earl…" she muttered. "Was this the right thing to do?"_

_Adam turned round, and gave her a crooked smile._

_"Of course, dear Road," he said. "Do you not respect my wishes to be rid of our pests?"_

_"B-But…" Road stuttered. "But whatever became of our game…?"_

_"Game?" The Earl chuckled. "What game? What could you be thinking about?"_

_Road paused before speaking once more. "You've forgotten, haven't you? That our brothers and sisters perished before you came here to kill the Exorcists."_

_"Of course I remember that," Adam sighed. "They were a pain, to just oppose me."_

_The Noah of Dreams shook visibly, before flinging her face to the eldest. "What are you speaking now! Aren't you supposed to be working together with us? How dare you speak ill of the family!"_

_Adam stopped, before turning back to her, eyes bloodshot. An eerie wind blew past their faces, and Road couldn't resist just trembling, full of consternation._

_"You…" Adam mumbled. "You oppose me… too…?"_

_Road gave a gasp of shock, and then settled down, eyes closed. This entire war was supposed to be a game for all of them, but it didn't get their desired end, all because the eldest became the monster that they tried so hard to avoid. She decided, though. She cannot follow such a monster._

_"Yes…" She said quietly. "I oppose you."_

_"I'll see to it, then," The Earl held out his hand, and the pumpkin umbrella came forth, bouncing lightly on the puddle of blood he had created from the blood of a resilient scientist. Adam took the umbrella by the handle, and out came a sword, a massive gray plated sword with lighter outlines of a cross. He let it fall to his side, and faced his new opponent, eyes cold, unforgiving. Road gave a small gulp, her feet ready to just falter, but she closed her eyes painfully, allowing herself to be run through just this instance…_

* * *

Tsuna sighed as he brushed away the brown locks in front of his forehead, all in the middle of summer class. It had grown half an inch during his time in the future. Speaking of which, Byakuran sure was a hassle to deal with, but it ended up just fine, didn't it? Everyone who had been taken to the future returned safe and sound, no major injuries. Now, today was just another day in school, and he had no idea what the teacher was saying. To be exact, he was busy thinking about something else, like this strange premonition of something bad. Strange, he thought. This was the first time he felt like this in just one month after going into the future…

"Tsuna," Yamamoto's voice cut through his thoughts. "Isn't it weird the teacher is looking at us the whole time?"

"Hye?" Tsuna jumped out of his seat when he came to. He banged his head on the leg of another desk, causing him to topple over and crash. Gokudera's head shot round and saw his boss on the floor.

"Tenth! You okay!"

Tsuna wearily got up. "I'm fine."

He could hear snickers echoing around the classroom. "Still no-good sometimes, isn't he?"

Tsuna smiled apologetically as he disregarded any offers while returning to his seat. Gokudera blinked for a few moments before sitting back in his own desk in defeat. The two boys returned to their work, trying to even catch up with the teacher if necessary. The girls behind him were chattering again, weaving more ill things to say to the class's butt monkey, as usual, but Tsuna had learned to just zone them out separately when time passed.

He had nothing to do at the moment. For some reason, Kyoko wasn't in class today, so he didn't have her to oogle at. His mind began wandering into this, just about why she wasn't here… Perhaps she had a cold? It was rare for Namimori's idol to get sick, from what he knew about her, and she wasn't part of any sports teams, so she wouldn't be at a tournament at a nearby school. And Kyoko was no slacker either… always prompt with her homework. Tsuna slumped in his seat, confused with the odd things happening today.

The Vongola Tenth sighed as the teacher droned on, still staring at him. It was definitely scaring him. Then Tsuna noticed something even stranger. All about him, the world seemed to darken slightly when he had half his Dying Will Power activated. His eyes widened at the sight as only he, his family, and the teacher seemed to be the only ones in this strange darkness. Gokudera also seemed to have the same problems as well, just paling at the strange feeling welling in him. Yamamoto's smile faded, color draining from his face quite rapidly.

"Tsuna…" the Rain Guardian muttered, and pointed faintly at the teacher, who seemed to be present.

The darkness continued, and then the strangest thing happened. A purple glowing light seemed to shine from the teacher's body, and the light rose from it, and Tsuna was even more alarmed. It was a deformed skeleton, chained to the teacher's body, and it was whimpering, letting a faint wail of pain as it attempted to move, clanking chains together. Gokudera tensed at the sight, not sure of whether the sight was real or not. Even worse, he felt like he was betraying himself, like he should be going up there and freeing that poor being of its misery, but he just couldn't move.

"What… what is this?" Tsuna muttered to Gokudera. Then the classroom faded back in with the other students, and Tsuna, thinking that he was only seeing an illusion, went back to taking notes. His hyper intuition was urging him that something was up with that teacher, and he needed to know soon. Lunch came shortly, and they were ready to leave when they saw the teacher still standing in the same place he had been, just staring down at them.

Other students, being courteous, came to approach the teacher, faces rather concerned for their teacher's sake.

"Um, Mr. Dochairo," one of them tried to offer a hand. "Do you need any help with anything?"

The teacher paused, before replaying in a deep voice, one that just didn't fit him.

"NO."

His tone was rather unwelcoming, firm, just enough to send chills running down Tsuna's bones. A faint feeling of dread began to crawl all over the young boss, and he was completely frozen as the gruesome show had just begun.

The man then began to flinch and twitch violently, his mouth gargling with foam before hunching over as if he had rabies. Students who were just next to him were giving blood-curdling screams and shoving each other for the door. Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto stayed still, frozen in fear as to what was happening to the teacher.

The man grunted in pain as he writhe on the floor now, his eyes pulsing in and out, and then immediately, once the man was on his back, the clothes on his back appear to be ripping rapidly, burning away when a strange monster appeared in his place.

"Wha…?" Gokudera was appalled at the creature he saw before him. The monster… was as horrible as Ghost, or maybe Ghost, Kikyo, and Zakuro combined. A white mask appeared on the monster's forehead, complete with a black star and a wicked grin. Its gossamer cobweb wings coming out of its back spread out fully, taking up the widespan of the room. The scaly red skin reached to its neck, its arms green with slime and other things unimaginable. Under its forehead was a pair or beady black eyes, full of bloodlust – the beginning of a nightmare.

The monster raised a sharpened nail threateningly at the Vongola family members.

"I have come to kill you, exorcists," It declared. "For rats like you to be running under noses for so long, we will crush you, just like how we crushed the Exorcists!"

"Allen… Walker…?" Tsuna muttered in wonder. Who were these exorcists the monster was referring to…?

A blaze of red flames shot past his ear, and hit the demon, who shielded it with his armored wrists. Tsuna turned back to see that it was his self-proclaimed right hand man who had taken action first, a arm-bound gun strapped to his wrist, and several sticks of dynamite in his hands.

"Bastard," Gokudera growled. "Get lost!"

A little spotted cat meowed as soon as it pounced into the bomber's arm, merging with the cannon of red flames. The result was a large longbow, flaming red entirely, with a red ball of fire as the arrows.

Yamamoto hastily drew his sword of bamboo, which turned into a genuine katana at the swish of the swordsman's hands. Tsuna dug into his pockets for his gloves and dying will pills, and the two of them joined Gokudera for a battle.

"Putting up a fight, aren't we?" the strange monster teased. "You will see your punishment."

The screams returned back to Gokudera as his attention went to the students frantically jamming the classroom to get out. The girls were shrieking, going as far as to trample each other if they had to, and the guys were still holding onto what was left of their chivalry, allowing the young women to knock each other out before attempting to go through the doors themselves.

In retaliation, the demon scowled, and extended his arms towards the group of students, and the screams suddenly stopped, followed by fountains of red. Gokudera watched in complete horror as he saw his classmates being set like skewered meat at a barbecue. He turned to see Tsuna looking absolutely horrified, and Yamamoto freezing at just the wrong time. They were both visibly shaken, not sure how to approach a monster that had no qualms of killing uninvolved people.

A sudden burst of rage came upon him, and he stepped forward instinctively, the limbs of his bow bursting into red flames as he pulled back the string. He was not going to forgive… he was supposed to… he wanted to protect… he did not want any involvements… what were all these thoughts zooming about in his own head, when they were not his own? The red fire was building up steadily as he carefully aimed at the demon before him.

The teen bomber shouted without any hesitation, releasing the string at once. "Tornado Flame Arrow!"

The demon only laughed, thinking that the arrow wouldn't even pierce his armor. However, he didn't expect this fireball to be effective enough to rip right through upon contact. The purple armor cracked, fracturing throughout the entire body of the monster. The monster began to scream incoherent as its body ripped itself apart, melting in the red flames

"I will get you for this!" It yelled, but before it could say more, its head disintegrated, leaving a small puddle of purple liquid doused in red flames. Gokudera was panting from that sudden rush of adrenaline, and he turned around to see that Tsuna was still frozen.

"Tenth!" He shouted as he came to his boss's aid. He complete disregarded the baseball idiot, who was still just as quiet as Tsuna was, but immediately jolted at the very instant Gokudera came rushing to Tsuna. The Rain Guardian shook his head, trying to get rid of a nonexistent headache, when he turned his attention to Tsuna, who was much more strangely silent than his Guardians.

"Tenth," Gokudera said gently. "Are you all right?"

Tsuna blinked before moving his lips slowly, "What… what was that thing?"

Yamamoto frowned as he then turned his attention to the rest of the classroom. The walls were completely ruined, and the windows were all broken. Desks and chairs were all upturned, and he bent over to just put one back in place when he noticed the small trail of blood. A wrenching feeling twisted the swordsman's stomach as he began walking to the front of the classroom, and his fists clenched at the sight of what the demon had left.

Gokudera looked at Yamamoto, who was still quiet about all this, and led Tenth behind him.

"Oi," He called to his comrade. "Baseball idiot, let's get out of here."

Yamamoto waited for a bit too long to answer the bomber's questions, and he turned around, face completely solemn, then he cover it up.

"This isn't real, is it?" he flashed a very hasty grin. "This is… a game, right?"

An irritating creak of his teeth grinding was enough to make Gokudera wince at the sight of the Rain Guardian. Sometimes he just hated the guy. If he was going to be scared, then he should be scared, not smile and grin stupidly at everyone else. Reluctantly, the bomber stalked to the fallen students and checked for their pulses. It was a stupid thing to do when he could tell that they were already beyond help with their bodies punctured like this, but it was for safety. He heard the small anticipation from both his boss and that idiot, but he looked at them, shaking his head in denial.

"No, baseball idiot," Gokudera scowled. "They're dead, so let's get out of here and find a different place to be other than here-"

Before the Storm Guardian could finish, he saw a blur of brown rush right past him. He whipped his head to the door and saw that Tsuna had already reached the door.

"I've got to find everyone first," he said in a low tone. "Let's go, Gokudera, Yamamoto."

"Tenth…" Gokudera said quietly to his boss as he got up and walked forward, his shoes splashing in the red puddles. Yamamoto's grin twitched as he walked past the bodies, eyes meticulously searching through both directions of the halls. He then turned round and saw that the other two were far ahead of him, and he began running to them with the sword clattering on his back as he took each stride, not wanting to be left behind.

For some reason, Tsuna couldn't see why there wasn't a single person running in these halls, screaming in panic. The place looked completely destroyed (and bloody, if he wanted to be any more descriptive), but it must have been only ten minutes since that teacher turned into a demon and killed the class. The incumbent young Vongola boss was walking ever so faster now, his walk slowly turning into a run. Gokudera, who was following closely behind him, shouted in surprise as Tsuna began shooting off into the entire length of the hallway, hurdling over anything in his path. The right-hand man had to admit, his boss could really sprint if he tried.

Meanwhile, Tsuna was frantically finding the exit to the school, his mind set on trying to find anyone he knew. There was Ryohei, Hibari (he dared himself to), Chrome, Reborn, and his mother, and Kyoko, especially Kyoko. He was beginning to feel even more tense about what could have possibly happened to the girl. Unlike Ryohei, Hibari, Reborn, and Chrome, Kyoko wouldn't be able to fend for herself.

"Tenth!" Gokudera shouted, and Tsuna turned around, seeing his right hand man panting. Yamamoto was right behind, already caught up, but he seemed tired, too. Tsuna could feel his own lungs feeling heavy from having run so hard. How far did he run?

"We need to get out of here," Tsuna said shortly, as he began walking in the hall again, feet crunching in piles of dust.

"Tsuna…" Yamamoto watched Tsuna's pained expression as the boy whipped his head back and forth to observe more of the destroyed school. Of course, it would be shocking to them. The school was destroyed this quickly? Where was everyone? Were there any more of those demons around?

Gokudera's shout surprised him as he saw Tsuna falling over, and the right hand man ran forward to assist the boy. Yamamoto followed, and found Tsuna had tripped over a body. It was an unnamed female student, a second year, if Yamamoto looked at the uniform. She was face-down in a pool of blood, unmoving. That explained the large hole in her back.

As Tsuna got up, he could see the classrooms were now in worse condition, the walls torn down entirely, and the ceiling was missing in patches, where an unusual gray sky loomed over them. The entire floor was littered with bodies, much to the boss's disgust. He covered his mouth subtly to hold back any chance of vomiting over the sight and smell of corpses. He looked back at Yamamoto and Gokudera, who were both wearing worried faces. He wanted to ask one of them to tell him to just suck it up and keep doing his job, but that was what only Reborn would do. For once, Tsuna wished his Spartan tutor would come and just constantly kick him and nag at him to get out of this school building as soon as possible. The brown haired boy averted his eyes from the body while Gokudera ushered him further to the stairs to the lower floors.

As soon as they reached the first floor, Tsuna took a better look at the rest of the neighborhood out of the window, and he looked even ready to just collapse and go to sleep, thinking this was a dream. Gokudera and Yamamoto had the same mixed reactions upon seeing the rest of Namimori more clearly from a shattered window.

The sky was now blood red, black clouds whizzing by. However, it wasn't the sky that was strange. It was the entire city. Everything was seeming in ashes or still burning, as if a large dragon swooped down and breathed flames upon all of Namimori. The school hadn't been on fire yet, strangely, but the broken hall way was crumbling loudly.

"T-Tenth…" Gokudera whispered. Tsuna didn't even hear him, but he was just as frozen as the others. He just wasn't used to this at all. Even though he had seen every atrocity the Vongola Family had committed in its lifetime, he had only seen it in short spurts of visions, not something that was before his eyes, embers flashing in his face.

Tsuna continued to stay still, taking in everything he saw, until Yamamoto finally said something, prompting him to turn around slowly to look at his Guardians.

"Goku… dera…?"

For once, Yamamoto actually looked terrified, his eyes were wide open as the silver haired boy beside him was still glaring at him, but Tsuna shrieked in horror. His friend's arms were completely missing, and only a small pile of fine dust was littered on the floor. His uniform remained, only hanging limply by his sides, but the boy didn't seem to even notice his lack of limbs.

"Gr…" Gokudera grumbled, turning away. "Why do my arms feel numb-"

He must have tried to scratch his head, but now he realized that he no arms at all, he froze entirely, consternation filling his eyes. His gaze then trailed to his feet, where he gasped in horror. They were beginning to disappear into thin air, every single part of his body. He tried to walk, but he couldn't move. The rest of his body was still being eaten away, disappearing by chunks. He whipped his head wildly to Tsuna, eyes pleading for help, and both his friends gather about him.

Tsuna and Yamamoto were watching unblinkingly, eyes completely wide, and the color draining from their faces. The Storm guardian's body was just falling apart, bit by bit, and they were too scared to even move. Gokudera grit his teeth as he began feeling a searing pain in his entire body as disintegration reached his shoulders. Tsuna flinched at the sound of his friend's screams.

"Tenth!" He shouted. "H-Help! Help me-"

But his head was all that was left, his cheeks already flaking away into tiny specks of gray sand. Tsuna and Yamamoto began sprinting at their friend, not wanting to endure his agonized face, but before they could move, Gokudera's head completely faded, and the bomber's clothes dropped to the floor, no longer having an owner.

Tsuna reached forward where his Storm Guardian had once been, and his hand wafted through thin air, and he stumbled into Yamamoto, who stopped him from falling forward. Tsuna stuttered incoherently, and he backed away from Yamamoto, who gave him a doubtful face. Tears began springing out of his eyes in streams as he slowly began to realize that Gokudera was no longer there.

"Go-Gokudera!"

Tsuna couldn't say anything after that when a very bad headache made him fall to his knees, clutching his head. He could hear Yamamoto shouting and yelling in pain as well, and the boss struggled to look up and open his eyes. His Rain Guardian was curled up on the ground, hands wrapped around the sides of his face. The swordsman let out a small whimper form the pain, and Tsuna lurched forward from a new pulse of pain. The Vongola Boss was now in the same position as the Rain Guardian, screaming, and sobbing. The world was spinning very fast, and Tsuna was losing his sense of gravity. He kept screaming and screaming for the pain in his head to just go away, but he was left unanswered as his mind finally failed him and went completely blank.

* * *

"Tsuna? Tsuna! Wake up, Tsuna!"

The said boy's eyes snapped open, and he jumped into a sitting position, his bottom landing on something soft. He tried to register what he had been doing before waking up. He looked about his surroundings, and then sighed in relief that it was just his room. But he couldn't help but feel unsafe about his own room. How did he get here? Wasn't he at school? School…

Tsuna then froze in complete movements, remembered what he had just seen. He remembered it all… the teacher turning into a demon, the school in ruins, Namimori in flames, and Gokudera disappearing right before his eyes… All that, and he was sure it was very real. He looked at his clothes. He was in his school uniform, no doubt, but he was more alarmed by the strange amount of ashes that were still stuck to the wool. So was what he saw real, then…?

The boy wanted to think more about it, but two pairs of eyes stared back at him in concern. Tsuna's vision was still trying to adjust to the bright lights before he recognized the familiar faces of Kyoko and Haru.

"Tsuna's awake!" Haru squealed, and Tsuna found himself tangled in a mess of arms all trying to hug him. He welcomed the gesture of care from these girls, but for some reason, he didn't like how they felt against him. Their bodies weren't as warm as they should be, and the arms wrapped around him were somehow stiff in movement.

"Haru… Kyoko…" Tsuna tried to say. "Can't… breathe…"

"Oh, sorry, Tsuna!" the two girls squeaked as they pulled away, still giggling. Tsuna massaged his shoulder, and looked at his clock. It was 1:00PM. The Vongola Tenth frowned. That was weird. It really did look like he had fainted at school and taken home. After all, lunch started at 12:00PM, and it was a Thursday. Even more so, the lights were on, and the curtains were closed. The clock said it was afternoon, but the room looked like it was night.

"Tsuna?" Kyoko gave him an inquisitive look, but Tsuna ignored it as he got up and went for the curtains. Perhaps if he could pull them open, and just look at Namimori, safe and sound, then he'd convince himself that what he remembered about Thurdays' lunch hour was not real.

Before he could even get to the middle of his bedroom, a pair of arms grabbed his, and he looked behind, seeing Kyoko and Haru's faces. The strange feeling of insecurity washed over him again as he just stared back at them in surprise. They were still smiling naturally, as if the world was perfectly normal. Was he the one being disillusioned?

"Come on, Tsuna," Haru laughed. "Let's go downstairs. Your mom said she's making a snack for us."

"R-really?" the boy stuttered. "O-okay… but… how about you two leave me alone for a moment… I need some time to catch a breath…"

"Of course not!" Kyoko said immediately, and began pulling him to the door of his bedroom. "We're all going downstairs, and we don't want you stay up there by yourself!"

"Yeah!" Haru agreed. "Let's go, Tsuna!"

"R-right…" the young boss laughed nervously as the two girls dragged him downstairs. He bit his lip unconsciously to stop himself from hissing about the iron grip Kyoko had on his hand. It seemed like she didn't want to let him go. Now, as much as he wanted Kyoko to act like this to him, he couldn't help but feel… like he couldn't trust Kyoko. Perhaps this wasn't Kyoko because Kyoko couldn't act like this. She wouldn't be so assertive, or forceful… What was going on?

"Mrs. Sawada!" Haru shouted. "Tsuna's awake!"

"Is that so?" Tsuna could hear his mom chuckling. He strode into the kitchen, and saw her standing beside the stove, cooking something that was steaming and had a nice smell. Ipin was helping with something small like sorting vegetables or fruits. Bianchi was busy making her own supposed concoction of poisoned food, but Tsuna saw it best not to observe such a thing. All this normalcy, and he was bewildered.

What really surprised him the most was Yamamoto, sitting at the dinner table. Not only that, the boy seemed quite pale for some reason, and he was just poking precariously at the food he was given. From what Tsuna could tell, the swordsman didn't touch a single thing on that plate. His sword, Shigure Kintoki, was strapped on his back rather than set aside at the front door with the schoolbags, and the sword seemed slightly open, as if he needed to unsheathe it at any moment.

"H-hey, Yamamoto," Tsuna said nervously, wishing that his Rain Guardian wouldn't act so weird.

The boy stiffened slightly, and eyed Tsuna for a few seconds before wearing that infamous grin.

"Oh, you're awake, Tsuna!" He continued to smile. Tsuna nodded before taking a seat right next to him, and Yamamoto started to really wolf down his food like he usually did. He was done within seconds, and once he gave the empty dish and fork to Nana, he bowed respectfully.

"I need to go to the restroom, so I'll be right back."

Tsuna watched his Rain Guardian zoom past him, just enough for him to see the distinct worry in his eyes. The young boss frowned before returning his attention to Kyoko and Haru, who were both seated. Nana had already set bowls for everyone, and they were filled with some sort of soup. It looked like chicken noodle soup, but Tsuna didn't want to start eating just yet. His conscience screamed that something was off, but his mind thought otherwise.

"So, Kyoko," Haru smiled to her friend. "How has your brother been doing?"

"Oh, me?" Kyoko returned the question. "He's been well. I think he's been exercising normally. He's been quite happy about boxing, too. He's going to prepare for a boxing tournament in a month."

"Really?" Haru was taken aback, but went back to giggling. "That sounds like a lot of work!"

Tsuna watched the two girls babble about boxing tournaments, and gave a weak smile. He stared back at his soup, and sighed. Perhaps he was just being paranoid… everything was normal. He was just worrying too much, and what he thought he saw was just a bad dream.

By now, Nana had joined in on Kyoko and Haru's conversation when she stared at the clock and frowned.

"Hm…" she said. "It seems that Yamamoto has been to the restroom for quite a while now."

"Oh," Tsuna said flatly before standing up. "I guess I'll go check in on him, then."

"Oh, that's good," Nana smiled as she lifted her mug of coffee. "Make sure he's all right."

The young boss bounded off into the hallway out of everyone's view, and he went to the nearest restroom. Yamamoto should have gone here.

He continued walking towards it, but just as he came to the door, the hinges creaked open, and Tsuna felt something grab his tie and yank him into the bathroom. The boy only had a split second to gasp before being tossed into the bathtub, his stomach hitting the edge. Tsuna groaned from the pain as he heard the door shut quietly behind him. A pair of more gentle hands pulled him up and allowed him to sit with his back against the side of the bath, and Tsuna was staring back at a feverish Yamamoto.

"S-sorry about that…" he said briskly, and Tsuna shook his head to say that it was nothing to be sorry for. Tsuna could see beads of sweat rolling down his friend's cheek, and he seemed rather panicky.

"Y-Yamamoto?" he asked as his stomach was still throbbing. "Are you… alright?"

"M-me?" the baseball fanatic stuttered, which was clearly not normal. Sighing in defeat, Yamamoto let his hands fall to his sides, and his head was bowed.

"I-I'm not okay, Tsuna…" he said. "Something's not… right about this place."

"W-what do you mean, Yamamoto," Tsuna raised an eyebrow. Yamamoto pointed at the curtains that covered the bathroom window, right atop the bathtub. Tsuna blinked at it, and then remembered something. Why were those curtains there?

Yamamoto then climbed into the bathtub and pulled away the curtains for Tsuna to see. All the boy could do was gasp.

"N-no way…" he muttered, and Yamamoto shook his head, understanding his shock.

It was just as he last remembered. The sky was a blood red tint, specked with black clouds. The absolute opposite of his own sky. It was perfect truth… perfect evidence… that what he had remembered about the school…

"G-Gokudera," Yamamoto said. "H-He really is gone. I even tried calling him, but his phone seems to be nonexistent."

* * *

**A/N: **_Yes, totally redoing this entire story, because the other had too many plot holes and isn't going anywhere. So, basically I retooled a majority of the story we've seen so far, but with a better plot than just sending them back in time like last time with no reason beforehand. If however, you want to see the old plot again, I'm posting the original bits on my backup account on Fanfiction Archive, along with other retired and eternally incomplete stories_

_The plot for this new story is 75% finished (I got the basics, it's just details and other things in between the main things). As for time setting, I'd like to say that this takes place right after the Future Arc in KHR, but before the Shimon Arc, and as for DGM… it's after Allen escapes from the Order and leaves poor Lenalee alone at the Order (sniffle). Well, anyways…_

_Why, yes, I've been busying myself trying to just finish some other stories that are almost complete, so I am terribly sorry for keeping this poor story on hold for too long. I also apologize for holding up fullmetal exorcist, too (frankly, I admit that there's actually barely anything in store there, and I'm still in the process of just figuring that entire rest of the plot)._


	2. Having No Trust For the Other

**A Piano's Requiem**

**Ch 02 – Having No Trust for the Other**

* * *

Tsuna placed his hands to his head, trying to knock some sense into him. Gokudera had disappeared, and he's no longer here, and the school was destroyed… It was all very real.

If so, then why is he still here? Shouldn't all of Namimori be complete ashes? Why was his house the only thing standing, supposedly? If nothing seemed to be alive at that time in the school… then why… why were the inhabitants of this house perfectly fine, not caring about what's going on outside? Why are Haru and Kyoko chattering so casually about. Why was Ipin playing so happily? Why was Bianchi so nonchalant about her cooking? Why was his mother still smiling with a cup of coffee in her hands?

"Speaking of which," Yamamoto muttered. "I woke up in the living room, you know."

"The living room?" Tsuna looked up at his Rain Guardian, who nodded.

"Yup," he gave a small smile before glaring out the window. "Bianchi was there, and she was trying to give me something to eat. I escaped that, though."

"G-good…" Tsuna sighed. The worst that could happen was the only person he could trust keeling over unconscious at a time like this.

"But, your mom came in to see me," Yamamoto said. "And she helped me to the kitchen with Bianchi. It was so weird when they touched my hands."

"Weird?" Tsuna blinked. Was that the same feeling that he felt when Kyoko and Haru helped him down the stairs?

"Yeah…" Yamamoto drifted. "Dunno, but something really weird is going on, and I guess we shouldn't be too cozy while we're here."

"Yamamoto," Tsuna held out his hand. "Can I feel your hand?"

"Uh, sure," the baseball fanatic nodded, and he grasped his boss's hand tightly. Tsuna blinked at it as he felt the surge of warmth emanating from his hands. It might have been a bit too warm, but Yamamoto did seem a little tired as if he had run a marathon, so that was explanatory.

"You're normal," Tsuna let go of his hand, and then went back to facing the wall with his back against the bath. "It seems that you're not cold like everyone else."

"Yeah," Yamamoto agreed, but then something made the hairs on his back stiffen. Tsuna felt a sharp spike in a feeling of adversity behind the bathroom doors, and the two of them slowly clambered to the said doors. Yamamoto slowly gripped the hilt of his sword, while Tsuna slipped on his pair of mittens, a dual dose of Hyper Dying Will Pills ready for consumption.

"Ready?" Tsuna whispered, and he heard a small grunt from Yamamoto, whose hand hovered on the doorknob. As soon as he turned it, the two of them charged forth, ready to face whatever was coming at them.

"T-Tsuna? Y-Yamamoto?"

The two of them stopped moving. Yamamoto's sword reverted back to its bamboo form, and Tsuna was almost placing the pills in his mouth. The boys craned their heads to the side to see a shocked Haru and Ipin. They then smiled at them, laughing at their playful antics.

"You were taking a while, so we came to check."

"Oh, really?" Yamamoto laughed, and returned his sword to his bag, while Tsuna shoved his gloves and pills into his pockets. The baseball fanatic then slung an arm around his boss.

"Sorry we took so long," Yamamoto pulled together an excuse. "We were just role-playing again!"

"Ah, really?" Haru was excited. "You should have called me over, so I could have given you costumes to cosplay in!"

"R-right…" Tsuna laughed nervously. "Let's go back to the kitchen…"

Haru and Ipin turned on their heels and went ahead, while Yamamoto and Tsuna walked slowly behind them. The two boys exchanged worried glances, just hoping that if they stay here long enough without that evil intent coming back again, they'd be fine.

Both of their minds were still mulling over everything that happened during lunch. They wouldn't forget the numerous bodies lying all over the floor, and they wouldn't forget that their best friend was somehow… missing. Where was Gokudera? Why did he disappear like that? Questions just kept pressing on in their heads as they sat back in their chairs quietly. Haru and Ipin sat next to Kyoko again, and the chattering resumed once more. Tsuna was glad that they were ignoring him for the most part. He really didn't want to talk about anything at the moment, not even to Yamamoto.

"Tsuna?"

The boy looked up blearily at Kyoko. He hated how he was acting towards her, but it was only common for him… she was acting so weird lately, he couldn't help but scorn her change.

"Yes?" he asked cautiously.

"Haru and I were thinking of going to the movies on Saturday," she giggled. "We wanted to ask if you wanted to come with us, and bring Yamamoto too. Oh, and don't forget Gokudera."

As the last words escaped from her mouth, Tsuna grimaced, his mouth twitching. It was difficult, trying to listen to them talk about it.

"S-sure…" Tsuna smiled. "I-I'll tell Gokudera… J-just…"

"Hm?" Kyoko gave him a strange look.

"Let's not mention Gokudera for now," Tsuna tried to keep his façade. "I-I'm a bit tired…"

Yamamoto glanced at the boy in concern, wondering if something really was bothering him. Tsuna said nothing as he returned to staring at the now cooled soup, which probably wouldn't taste so good, now that it was no longer warm.

"Oh….?" Haru began to giggle in a manner that really wasn't like herself. "Tsuna doesn't want to talk about Gokudera?"

"Oh, right, Gokudera," Kyoko followed with a strange laugh. "Gokudera… Hm… Wonder where he is now, that Gokudera…?"

"Ah, yes," Tsuna's mom joined in. "Gokudera should be at home, I guess…"

"Hm…" Bianchi spoke. "Hayato hasn't been around lately…"

"Gokudera…."

"Hayato…"

"Gokudera…"

"Gokudera… Gokudera…"

Tsuna gripped the spoon he was holding onto, trying not to listen as everyone began repeating his right hand man's name over and over again. This wasn't like them. If he asked them to stop doing something, they'd stop, but now they were seemingly deliberately bothering him with this. Yamamoto noticed the pain in Tsuna's face as the girls kept talking with their best friend's name in each sentence, and he then caught the girl's attention, while Tsuna relaxed his hold on the spoon, now that the girls have stopped saying Gokudera's name.

"Now, now," Yamamoto tried to persuade everyone. "Tsuna's a bit uneasy here, so let's not talk about this, okay?"

However, nothing would stop. The girls reverted back to some screaming match involving Gokudera's name, and Bianchi was singing "Hayato" in different pitches, they couldn't tell what song it was. Nana, then started cheerily repeating the boy's name over and over again, and Ipin gave an occasional nickname for the teenage bomber.

It wasn't long before Tsuna merely stood up from the table and slammed his hands down on the wood, banging it hard enough that everyone stopped talking. The boy couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't be around these people, not with them tormenting him day and night. This wasn't the Kyoko, Haru, Bianchi, Nana, and Ipin he knew. They weren't the ones he lived with.

"I already told you…" Tsuna's voice came out in an icy tone, and Yamamoto's blood curdled at the sound of it. "To not speak about Gokudera today. DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I SAID?"

He didn't make any eye contact with anyone at the table, not even Yamamoto, who was staring at his boss in worry. Tsuna wasn't going to take it any longer, and something was bound to go wrong. The entire table was eerily silent as Tsuna remained standing, and all eyes were set on him. Soon, a small applause came from the end of the table.

"Oh, really, Tsuna…?" Nana then began, and she had set down her cup of coffee. She pushed back her chair and stood up, looking at her son with disgust. Yamamoto couldn't help but feel afraid of her, too, with that woman wearing an expression he'd thought he'd never see on such a kind person like Tsuna's mother.

"To be speaking to Kyoko and Haru like this…" Nana spoke. "To speak to **me** like that…"

Tsuna didn't dare look up, hoping not to meet the eyes of a disappointed mother.

"Do you love your mother anymore?" Nana finally said, and Tsuna visibly flinched at the question. He tried to force himself to stop being so reactive to it, but why was his mother saying this? His mother was never the type to say such things to him at all if he did something wrong or received a bad grade… Why now?

"That's right, Tsu-na," Haru and Kyoko said in unison, and they both stood up from their seats. The screeching of chairs from Bianchi followed, too, and soon, every single girl and woman was staring down at him with disapproving eyes. Yamamoto got up shakily and stayed close to Tsuna, eyes glinting dangerously.

"Why do you have to be so angry at us?" Kyoko asked coldly.

"That's right, Tsuna," Haru said again. "You don't like us at all. You hate all of us, do you?"

A small gasp escaped Tsuna's throat, and he looked up at the girls, and was absolutely horrified. They were both standing, but their eyes weren't there. Just hollow holes, and nothing to see. Yamamoto was stiff at the sight of everyone else. No one around them had eyes, and their skins were turning ashen gray.

"You don't like us at all, Tsuna," Bianchi. "You don't like anyone here, do you?"

Before Tsuna could say anything in response, something whizzed past his head, brushing past a bit of his hair. Closely behind him, he could hear a distant crashing of glass and plates. Nana, on the other hand, was on the other end of the table, hand outstretched at him, her hand coated in metal, and holes at her fingertips. Her face wore a Cheshire grin, and eyes hollow. The only that could be nice about her anymore was her hair, brown and soft. Otherwise, she was no longer recognizable.

Bianchi and Ipin twitched with large bundles of metal coming out of their backs, and their arms were just wires and bits of metal. They continued to get bigger until they were merely large snake-like creatures made entirely out of metal, with pure white masks for faces, all with mad smiles on their lips.

They left their spots from the table, and began approaching Tsuna and Yamamoto slowly as the two boys backed away to the entrance to the hallway.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto suggested. "We run?"

Tsuna nodded slowly, and his legs were bending, ready to start springing at a moment's notice.

"Y-yeah…"

Immediately, they turned round and began dashing to the exit. If they couldn't get out this way, they'll have to reluctantly blow up the side of Tsuna's house.

Before they could a few feet, Tsuna could feel something metal winding around his waist, and his feet stopped moving. Yamamoto was whirling around slowly as the few seconds registered itself into Tsuna's head as he was suddenly moving backwards, and he felt the splintering of wood on his back. The pain of air draining out of his lungs was slowly creeping to him, before he could finally let out a piercing scream.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto shouted, but he ducked to the floor to avoid a pair of bullets aiming for his head. He unsheathed Shigure Kintoki, and held it at the ready. Quickly a bird with blue flamed wings leapt from his hand along with a dog engulfed in the same fire. He raised his sword above his head and started running, swinging it in a wavelike manner.

"Scontro di Rondine!" He shouted, and he attempted to charge at Ipin, and sliced the demon in half, but as soon as he hit, he only felt horrible recoil on himself, and he had to retreat as Ipin turned round and swiped at his smaller form. He was now standing in the center of the living room, face full of surprise.

"Wha?" Yamamoto blinked. He was sure it had hit the demon fair and square, why wasn't it getting hurt? He jumped backwards to avoid the spray of bullets coming at him.

"Silly humans," Bianchi laughed as she kept shooting repeatedly. "You don't even have the mark of an exorcist, and you still fight!"

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto shouted, and tried to come forward, but he could see too many bullets coming for him. The swordsman bit his lip in frustration. He really made a bad move, did he…?

However, before he could think any more, a pair of hands yanked him away, and they went crashing into the nearest bookshelf. The Rain Guardian groaned as a stray dictionary fell on his chest, and he got up to see who had helped him back there. It was Tsuna, in Hyper Dying Will Mode, and his gloves were set aflame. Natsu was sitting beside its owner, whimpering as the boy got up and allowed the little lion to jump onto his shoulder. Yamamoto could see that Tsuna wasn't enjoying this battle at all, and it would have best for them to just go running away rather than fight.

"Tsuna…" Yamamoto tried to say, but Tsuna didn't answer when he jumped at the swordsman, and made him dodge in the round of bullets dancing across the wall behind them. The two of them started running into the kitchen when they saw that the ceiling and everything above had been completely destroyed. Now was their chance!

Tsuna went first and started charging at the opening, with Yamamoto getting ready to fly with his three short swords. But just as the Vongola Tenth was reaching freedom, he stopped with an expression of dread as his body hit something hard, and was flung back into the kitchen. Yamamoto ran over to help Tsuna, but the boy zoomed away from where he had fallen and left him to deal with Bianchi and ipin.

"You're not going to get away that easily, our prey," Bianchi chuckled, and a loaded barrel was aimed straight at Yamamoto, who couldn't move from where he stood. Flames leapt out of his swords, projecting the immense fear and strength he had. Like that would ever protect him from a poisonous bullet.

* * *

Tsuna dashed into the broken hallway, panting with the sudden burst of energy he had experienced. Frankly, he had to say that he hadn't been practicing very much since his return from the future, and needless to say, Reborn was very mad at him for not keeping his skills in check. Thanks to his mother's coaxing and his ongoing excuse of making up homework, Tsuna managed to avoid his tutor's wrath somehow, and now he was a complete slug in the middle of battle. The Vongola Tenth sure had a lot to regret about now, though.

He could hear Yamamoto shouting a dozen attacks from the kitchen, and the sound of the water-like flames flowing about. Those demons must be really onto him, Tsuna thought, and he tried to come closer to help, but was halted by a single bullet that went right past his nose and into the wall beside him, while he heard heavy footsteps coming from behind.

"Oh, silly little Tsuna," his mother's voice echoed. "I wanted to play with you for a while…"

"M-mom…" the boy turned round, and saw Nana standing a few feet from him, hand outstretched with that steel like hand that shot bullets. Kyoko and Haru weren't too far away, and they were from the opposite side of the hall, completely flanking him. The flame on the boy's forehead was quivering from hesitance to make a single move. He had never fought against this before, and this was his own mother, to boot. He didn't want to hurt her, if she was alive… No! His mother was still alive! If he could try to defeat her without bringing any harm to her, Kyoko, or Haru, all of them would be fine!

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Kyoko sounded close to a cackle, very unbefitting of a kind sweet girl like herself. "The worst student in the class of 2A. Useless Tsuna. Could never do anything right, and can't get a single math problem right… a complete idiot."

Tsuna flinched at what she had just called him. Kyoko would never call him that so easily. She was kind to everyone, even to him whenever he committed a blunder that shamed the entire class. Kyoko was the idol of the school, the perfect role model of a female student. Why was Kyoko acting entirely opposite? What has become of these girls and his mom?

"Useless Tsuna," Haru continued. "Stupid, useless, Tsuna. To think that I've fallen in love with a stupid, useless fool like you. I really wished you died when you tried to save me from drowning. I could have saved myself anyways."

"You were a stupid son," Nana continued, her voice wavering, almost close to mad laughter. "I can't believe you have grown up to be such an idiot. I don't even want to see you every morning. A shame to the family…"

Tsuna was frozen all over. W-Why…

"That's right," Tsuna's mom sneered. "We have never loved you at all."

"We hate you," Kyoko and Haru began to chant together. "We hate you."

"I hate you," Nana added. "We all hate you."

"But it's all right," Kyoko muttered, and now she was a foot away from Tsuna. "Because you hate us, too."

"K-Kyoko…" The Tenth Vongola boss muttered. With such hateful words rolling out of the mouths of the ones he loved, he still couldn't raise a hand against them. Even if they weren't themselves, he didn't want to see a drip of blood on their face. They were still wearing their persona's faces, and they were still smiling, just like they had always been, back when they cared for him. Back then…

"What a despicable little boy you are," Nana was walking towards him, her hands still trained on his face. "A stupid person. We all hate you."

"To let even the closest of your friends die and hurt," Haru joined in. "You're the worst."

"Wha…" Tsuna stammered. How did they know about this? Who were they talking about? Was it Uni? Was it Gokudera? Is all the blame of everyone's suffering being placed on him? It wasn't his fault! It wasn't his fault entirely that some of them had died, and some of them had gotten hurt. He didn't want them to die and get hurt. They themselves had jumped before him on their own will… So why…

Three mangled hands, encased in steel and riddled with bullets, were clicking around his head, and his shaking body couldn't take it anymore.

"Die. Because you should be."

Next thing moment, a sense of numbness washed over the young Vongola Boss, and he watched his own hands move on their own, flames burning vigorously in all directions. His body lurched forward all too quickly for his neck, which made a rather nasty whipping motion, and he shot forward, his forehead ripping through the layers of concrete and plaster. He was covered in dust as he automatically dodged to the side of the hole he created, narrowly missing the trio of bullets coming at him.

He crouched behind the mess of table legs and chairs, hoping they'd give him some sort of camouflage while he tried to think of a way to get out. He was currently at the kitchen again, and he could hear the distant sounds of Yamamoto holding on his own against what were once Bianchi and Ipin. He could hear the heavy footsteps of the other three trying to break through the wall he had run through. More importantly, his head was throbbing horribly from trying to run through a wall headfirst. It was fortunate he was in Hyper Dying Will Mode at the moment, but the pain would bite him back later.

He continued to catch his breath, the flame on his forehead flickering ominously. The boy looked behind him, the sounds of a wall pounding still buying him time. A small chuckle escaped his breath. Even if those three were powerful, they didn't seem to be smart enough to walk around the hall to the kitchen, nor did they ever think of crawling through the hole. If he could go through it, then Kyoko and Haru would have already gotten to him already. Guess these monsters didn't have the best of brains after all.

Tsuna was ready to jump onto his feet, and run to find Yamamoto. With those three distracted, he could rejoin his friend, and everything would be better. He pressed down on his feet, and he slowly stood up, noticing how his entire body shook horribly when was fully standing. His entire body locked itself, and he couldn't move a single joint anymore

"W-what…?" He was puzzled. Why wasn't he moving? Was he this scared of the situation?

The ground beneath began to rumble, and he gazed down to see cracks stretching around him on the floor. When those slabs of floor crumbled away, he caught himself from falling with the flame of his gloves, and he began zooming towards the door. But something caught onto his foot, and reeled him back, and his back made contact with the rack of pans and pots hanging off from the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of him once again, and he was flung forward through more layers of wall.

"That was a good distraction, wasn't it?"

Nana rose from the hole she had made, her arms now comprised of a metal strips of ribbon that could move on its own. The woman walked towards the cloud of building dust, and found Tsuna, completely caked in crumbled plaster, barely moving. He was very well awake, but his flames were extinguished, his battle gauntlets transforming back into wool mittens. His eyes were still open, still watching whatever loomed above him, but his body was no longer able to move. The monster that was once his mother reveled in the sight of darting brown eyes, that fear that ran through them.

"You were never loved, Tsuna," She whispered. "You were a murderer, a cheater, an abomination."

She struck him once more, earning a well-deserved gasp from the receiver. Nana continued to beat down on the poor boy, laughing as she did so. She watched the quivering body twitch to her own sounds, those whispers that would surely break him. She could have just given him a more quick death with a poison bullet, but there was no fun in that. Now she'd just keep hitting him until Kyoko and Haru came, and the beating would increase threefold.

* * *

"Ahahaha! A mere attack like this wouldn't graze me a bit, lowly human!"

Yamamoto ducked behind a pockmarked couch, his one Shigure Kintoki remaining in his hands. His three other short swords were cracking from trying to block those bullets, and in fear of losing them permanently, he had put them away. Now he was even more at a disadvantage, and he regretted his decision.

Now the swordsman was wondering if Tsuna was doing well himself. He couldn't hear many sounds with Bianchi cackling and bullets flying from all directions. Tsuna was supposed to be even better than him, right? Perhaps he had a higher advantage than Yamamoto did. Thus, he was confused: why could Gokudera kill a demon instantly with his weapons, and not Yamamoto. They were on the near same level of fighting, but these demons were nearly in impenetrable to his swords, so much that he could only make a single scrape out of all the hits he had inflicted on their metal armor.

The sense of both Ipin and Bianchi were getting closer, and he tightened his grip on his sword, which was glowing blue with flames still licking against the surface of the blade. He crouched low, and raised his sword back, his eyes focused on the targets behind the sofa that divided the distance between them. He sprung forward, his sword cutting past the sofa, and he leapt at the nearest of the two demons. He held his sword back again, and made a second swing, but it only hit the armor on the surface.

The Rain Guardian reacted quickly, and retreated to a good distance away from them, running around as much as possible to avoid the rain of bullets. Guess that approach was no good, again. For once, he couldn't be any more frustrated than he had been with Genkishi. He was losing this battle by the minutes.

It wasn't long when he heard a crash on the other side of the house. He froze in fear, watching the halls carefully. Soon, something whizzed so quickly right passed him, he could barely catch the hint of brown. It hit the hallway, and a blocks of plaster fell right on it. Yamamoto ran towards the dust, and swatted the dust away, trying to see what had flown into the wall. His heart leapt a beat when he recognized the formation of spiky brown hair.

"Tsuna!" He cried, and tried to help him up, but froze when he saw how different Tsuna looked. The boy's eyes were entirely glazed over, as if he were no longer there anymore. He was covered in bruises and cuts, and he must have broken something, with his legs and arms bent so precariously like that. Something was very wrong about this, if it were the demon's fault.

"Tsuna," He shook the Vongola Boss a bit, but nothing changed in his expression. Apprehension rose as Yamamoto heard a snap wooden plank from behind him. The demons were closing in them, and they weren't any close to escaping without dying altogether.

For once, he was afraid, and shaking terribly. Tsuna wasn't reacting to this revelation at all, his expression blank, and his consciousness wilting away. Yamamoto held onto Tsuna, not sure on how to move with an unconscious person, and a sword, when the miracle came.

A large portion of the wall beside them burst open, and the demons were taken aback, gasping at the sudden amount of dust flying around the house. Yamamoto clutched Tsuna even closer, making sure that the two of them didn't inhale too much of the dust. He heard footsteps, jumping and running into the house, and relief washed over him. Help had finally come, and he had managed to hold off that much. But who had come to their aid?

"You take the three down there in the hallway," a squeaky yet hostile voice commanded. "I'll take these two. You two, look for survivors."

Yamamoto immediately recognized this, and he was far too happy to know that these guys were alive.

"Reborn!" He shouted, and startled footsteps caming running towards his direction.

"Yamamoto!" Another voice came, that of a teenage boy. "Is that you?"

"Yeah!" He shouted. "Tsuna's with me, too!"

"Oh, good!" Two people came forth, and Yamamoto recognized immediately.

"Ryohei! Chrome!" He cried. If he didn't have Tsuna in his arms, he'd already leap and hug them in appreciation that they were alive, but he pointed to Tsuna first. The boxer and the young girl came closer, and they gasped at Tsuna's state.

"Sawada…" Ryohei muttered, and immediately activated his Sun Ring. Yamamoto and Chrome watched in silence as they listened to the sound of bullets and metal behind them.

"What's Reborn doing?" Yamamoto asked quietly, and Ryohei glanced up to look at his comrade.

"Reborn's fending off the demons," he said. "Apparently, our weapons aren't working against these guys, and Reborn's is the only one that does any damage at all, even if it's just a few holes. If you put it through the right places, these guys die soon enough."

"Oh," Yamamoto realized."So you had the same problem, too."

"Hibari's shouldn't be working," Ryohei added. "But Hibari's Hibari. He apparently managed to put some damage on these monsters that came u-"

Their voices were muted as a loud boom rocked the entire house, creating a big wave of dust flying about. Ryohei got up and punched the wall that Tsuna had crashed into previously, and he made a large exit for them. He looked at Yamamoto, who nodded quickly, and they all filed out of the house with Tsuna in tow. They were out in the streets (or what was left of it), and Yamamoto noticed two people standing a good distance away. The two ran forward, cheering and yelling that Ryohei and Chrome had returned.

"Lambo was waiting too long!" The smallest of the two cried, and the little toddler leapt into Chrome's arms. The girl didn't speak much, but she patted the poor child's back to comfort him.

"It's all right," she said in a soft voice. "We're all here now…"

The second person was Fuuta, and he stopped short when he saw another explosion toppling the Sawada household. He winced at the sound of it, but noticed that Tsuna had made it. The little boy dropped to his knees beside Tsuna, and touched the boy's face, hoping that rubbing it a bit would wipe away the plaster that fell on his surrogate brother's face.

"He's not… hurt, is he?" The little boy looked at Yamamoto, but the older boy couldn't say much, not when his friend here was obviously ill, and the Rain Guardian was trying to keep his composure here.

Two explosions in a row followed quickly, and they saw Hibari running out quickly. He was still donning the school uniform like Yamamoto and Tsuna, but the shirt was charred and ripped in some places. Somehow, his coat still managed to hang onto his shoulders like it always did, but it was just as torn and tattered like the rest of his clothes.

The Namimori head prefect kept his distance away from the group of "herbivores" and glanced back at the house, wondering how the little baby hitman was faring with his share of monsters. Just then, the entire front of the house broke down, and the demon was rendered useless onto the ground. Reborn was walking on the anterior of the monster, gun poised carefully on the demon. Yamamoto recognized the creature as the one who posed as Bianchi, and watched as that nastily smiling face turned into one of fake sweetness.

"Oh, Reborn…" said the demon with the face of the woman who loved him dearly. The little hitman didn't change his expression at all as he pressed his gun closer to the demon's head.

"You aren't Bianchi, so don't even try," Reborn said in his intimidating demeanor, and he filled the demon's head with bullets. Chrome and Lambo winced at the sound of the continuous round of bullets and small gasps from the demon before it was just gunshots, and nothing more. Reborn hopped off from the Demon and began approaching the rescue party, eyes hidden under the rim of his fedora while Leon climbed back onto his hat.

"R-Reborn…" Ryohei muttered while the Arcobaleno hopped onto his shoulder, his eyes falling over Tsuna, who looked as dead as a doorknob, had he not been breathing. Yamamoto and Ryohei noticed the concern the tutor had for his student, and proceeded to explain.

"He's breathing, Reborn," the Rain Guardian said solemnly. "But he's not responding to anything."

"I see," Reborn said coldly. "He must be shell-shocked for the moment. Those monsters must have really gotten to him."

"But… he's hurt…" Fuuta whispered, crying at the state of the person who housed him.

"Little baby," Hibari's voice caught his attention, and he turned to see the prefect strolling forth, Hibird chirping softly upon his shoulder. He approached them stiffly and nodded to the past dilapidated home.

"I've gotten rid of those things back there," he said.

"Good," Reborn nodded, and then the Cloud Guardian looked at Tsuna, who was unmoving on the ground as Ryohei healed his wounds. A small flicker of interest flashed through the young man's eyes, and he turned around to look about the destroyed house. It was so quiet, and the world was completely empty for just this moment.

"I…. I…"

A small voice came from the ground, and everyone whipped their heads to Tsuna, whose lips were moving slowly, trying to form words, speaking to no one. His eyes were half-lidded, and not even glancing at anything but the red sky.

"couldn… sa… really…. re… ly… wh… sav…"

"Boss…" Chrome was close to tears, seeing a close friend in such a state. Reborn then gave an accusing stare at Yamamoto, demanding an explanation. The Rain Guardian promptly began sputtering exactly what had happened to him and Tsuna at school until now. Chrome and Ryohei were having quite some trouble listening, and adjusting to a nervous Yamamoto, too. Never once had they seen him so out of it before. Reborn merely nodded every few seconds until their story was finished.

"I see," the hitman turned back to Tsuna, who lay on the ground unmoving, eyes closed from exhaustion. He had lost consciousness now, and he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

"Hey…." Lambo whined. "Where's Stupidera? Isn't he always with us?"

Chrome looked down at the young toddler. He was trembling from just watching this entire world fall apart, but he still had the gall to ask where their friends were without much fear or worry… what a lucky child.

"Gokudera… didn't make it…" She whispered, and she merely hugged Lambo, who was rather skeptical of what she meant. Reborn's face darkened at that fact, and looked at everyone. This was what was left of the Vongola at the moment, he presumed. He had tried contacting everyone he knew close to here, and even in Italy, but there was no sign of his other comrades' existence on the other side of the line. Was the entire world attacked by these monsters? If so, they shouldn't stay here out in the open, especially Tsuna and the younger children.

"We'll have to get out of here," Reborn noted, and he hopped onto Yamamoto's shoulder, pointing to the area outside of Tsuna's house. "Let's go. There should be someplace that's not touched by whatever demons we have running around."

Yamamoto nodded obediently, and the entire party began their trek out of Namimori. Yamamoto took the job of carrying Tsuna on his back while Reborn took the lead in front. Chrome, Ryohei, and Fuuta stayed in the middle of the group with Yamamoto, and Hibari was the tail.

The last had no desire to talk to anyone, especially about the state of the precious city he had sworn to himself to protect. He didn't even want to go with these herbivores (and the baby) at any circumstance, but then that baby brought up the fact that they could find out who caused all this, and then he was now tagging along in the back of this rescue party. Hopefully, they didn't go off to bring more herbivores into the group, otherwise these demons would get to them quickly.

They were on the borders of the town when they heard a small disturbance nearby. Everyone stopped, and saw a little dog running towards them, tongue swinging. Everyone watched the dog deftly, and Reborn pulled the trigger at it, his expression grim. The dog yelped as the bullet hit its leg, but the barks became howls and laughter of an non-canine creature, and another demon rose out of the skin and bones that was formerly a dog.

Yamamoto and Fuuta watched in utter horror at the fact that a small creature could house a colossal monster, but Reborn and Hibari readied their weapons. They really did have to get out of here, especially here.

* * *

**A/N:** _Is this too dark for anyone? I mean, it was intended to be somewhat dark, and I don't think it has as much humor as the previous story… If this is making anyone feel sad or angry, I'm really really sorry! Also, I missed Fuuta a lot, so he's our "main cast" of survivors. I know it's a bit unfair, taking Gokudera out, and putting Fuuta in, but… well, this story is technically going to shine light on the one-scene wonder characters, or the ones that got stacked back into the shelves after one arc._


	3. The Man with the Many Books

**A Piano's Requiem**

**Ch 03 – The Man with the Many Books**

* * *

"_Boy!"_

_Lavi looked up from where he sat, the color clearly drained from his face. He had been hurt so badly from Sheryl's rage, and the virus inside him wasn't helping him, either. Bookman wasn't doing so well, either. He had his own share of beatings already, but he had enough strength to sit up and glare at Fiddler, who was limping his way towards them. Lavi blinked blearily, wondering why the Noah was injured._

_Fiddler crouched down before Lavi, and grasped his hands. Lavi yelped weakly at the sudden feeling of being drained of something, and long after that, he felt less heavy, as if he wasn't so ill like he had been just a few months ago. He looked questioningly at the Noah, who stood up to face him._

"_I'm taking out the virus out of you," He said bluntly. "You need to get out of here."_

_Lavi flinched, and gaped at the Noah as if he turned into fluffy pink bunny. Why was he no longer hostage again?_

"_W-What's going on?" He asked, and Fiddler looked up at him with pleading eyes._

"_Adam has lost his cause," he said briskly, looking back to where he had come from. "He's lost sight of what we all wanted. We opposed him, so now he's been killing us all."_

"_Noah killing Noah?" Bookman snorted. "That sounds beneficial on our part."_

"_Yes," Fiddler sighed, but he heard a shuffling from behind them. They all glanced quickly at the sudden source of the sound, and saw Road, gasping for breath. She must have fought her entire way here, and she looked completely exhausted._

"_Are the Bookmen safe?" She asked. And Fiddler nodded weakly._

"_I've removed the virus," He said. "We'll have to make a passage out for them from here."_

_Then the two began babbling too quickly, Lavi himself couldn't catch what they said, except for terms such as "exit" and "help." Since when were the Noah helping him, a possible ally to the Black Order, Noah's enemy?_

"_Wait! Wait!" Lavi shouted, and all of them stopped talking to stare at him. "Can someone tell me what's going on?"_

_It was Road's turn to answer questions, and she turned towards him. Much to his horror, she was clearly lacking the playful airiness she usually carried whenever they met. The only thing that seemed "playful" at all was the rather skimpy mini dress she was donning._

"_We don't know, exactly," She said. "But… we can't leave you prey to his wrath. You two must escape quickly."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because," Road's voice became smaller, something he had never seen in the Noah of Dreams before. "He's going to kill Allen."_

"_Allen…?" Lavi muttered, and he wasn't sure how to react to this. Hadn't the Earl wanted to kill Allen numerous times? This was not an uncommon situation he could hear of._

"_But without Allen," Road said. "Time will be destroyed."_

_A serious shock ran through Bookman, and everyone looked at the elderly Exorcist._

"_No," he said quietly. "That would be bad after all."_

"_Gramps," Lavi cried. "What's going on, Gramps?"_

_Dark round circles around the eyes stared up at him, the feeling of defeat reflected so easily out of them._

"_I'll stay. I'm actually unable to move any longer."_

_Lavi blinked, his one green eye widening in surprise that his teacher would say such a thing. With all the chaos going on, he wasn't sure if he was going to make it out at all._

"_But, Gramps…"_

"_You're more important than I am," The man with dark circles in his eyes sighed. "Besides, you've learned quite enough to already take on my position."_

_He slowly reached into his pockets, and gave him a slip of paper. The redhead took it slowly, and stared at it, noticing the address. This meant something really bad, especially if his teacher was giving him the location of this certain place._

"_Gramps…" His voice choked at the sudden realization. "No… you shouldn't be…"_

"_Don't be rash, Junior," Bookman glared at him with steely aged eyes, and Lavi shut his mouth. "I taught you well not to act like this if I die."_

_Lavi nodded quickly, and averted his attention. Bookmen weren't supposed to feel the sense of loss, so he had to take his teacher's death lightly. It wasn't a good choice, but he was abiding by the rules of the clan. Road motioned to him to come forward, and he did so, looking back Bookman, who seemed to be saying something to Fiddler. Road tugged on his tattered sleeves, earning his attention again. There, he saw a pair of checkered doors, and they opened immediately when he set eyes on them. He received a small push to walk forward, and the Bookman apprentice looked at Road in question._

"_Hurry," she said. "I made a Gate for you to go through out of the Arc. Hopefully, Adam's not at my portion of the Arc yet."_

_Lavi nodded quickly, entering. Even if he wasn't sure of what was going on at the moment, he had a firm goal in his mind: to save Allen Walker. If he failed, goodness knows what he would do to himself._

"_Oh, and here."_

_Lavi looked down at the shorter Noah, and saw that she was handing him something. It was his Innocence, that trusty hammer he always used. Belated, he took it back, and stuffed it into the remains of his belt._

"_Thank you."_

"_No," Road nodded. "Thank you, you were a great opponent."_

"_Um… yeah, you, too."_

* * *

"Would you like some more water, sir?"

Ryohei looked up at the young girl in a bright orange yukata gazed up at him with big brown eyes, her dark orange hair settled in short locks. He bit back his tongue as he looked away quickly, his attention attempting to shift to a rather nice bamboo mat he was sitting on. He couldn't look at this woman at all, not when she looked too much like his little sister.

"N-no thanks, Miss Yoko…"

"Oh, I see," the young lady got up to her feet and left the room quietly, the sliding doors clacking against the wood. Ryohei sighed deftly as he stopped tensing up, and looked across the room where Chrome was sitting beside Tsuna and the younger children. Their clothes had been damaged when they came to this shelter, and the people here were kind enough to offer everyone some clothing. They were a bit too traditional for their tastes, but they had to go along with it, if they wanted any clothes.

Fuuta and Lambo had fallen asleep in the middle of the day, since they've already lost perception of time from staying inside here for too long. The fact that the sky was blood red nowadays wasn't of much help either. Ryohei slipped a small smile that he had a hard time bringing out these days. They were young children, without much to really concern themselves. But they were resting now, and that was all he wanted to them have.

Tsuna, on the other hand, had woken up quite a few times when they had left Namimori last month. He seemed to be waking up like any normal person, and he was recovering well from his injuries (With Ryohei's Sun Flames, he was able to walk and run within two weeks). However, the Vongola Boss didn't speak at all, nor did he even change that bored, glazed expression that he took up ever since they found him and Yamamoto at the Sawada residence. No one, not even the other people of the inn, were comfortable with the thousand-meter stare that the boy gave off whenever he looked at anyone. It was nerving, and his friends were not at all familiar with that look in his eyes. Reborn and Hibari didn't seem to mind. Reborn's reason was that Tsuna was just "shell-shocked," just like any rookie Mafioso, and Hibari didn't even bother to give a reason. With Tsuna in a terrible mental state, there was great unease through the entire team.

The door slid open, prompting both Chrome and Ryohei to see who had come to see them. Their apprehension faded when they realized that it was just Yamamoto and Reborn. They had returned from their rounds as guards of the inn, making sure whoever came in were not a rogue monster or that no massive army of those creatures came flying to them.

"Yo," the boy with his bamboo sword greeted them warily as he settled down in the corner of the small room. His gaze fell upon Tsuna, who was awake but didn't return the greeting like he always did, back when these demons weren't lurking around. After one month of this, Tsuna's behavior was more of a commonplace occurrence to them all, and they minded their own business unless he tugged on their clothes to ask for something. They had known him for quite a while, so it was easy to tell what Tsuna wanted, whether he was pointing at things or he was just staring at them with cold blank eyes. Otherwise, the other people in the building here didn't know how to deal with Tsuna.

"There hasn't been much as last week," Reborn muttered darkly as Leon turned into a small chair and table for him. The hitman had not gotten his hourly dose of coffee for a month, and it was taking a toll on him. He was all work, no play, much to Lambo's chagrin, and he was becoming more irritable and gruff whenever he was approached. The Arcobaleno even developed a more serious case of trigger-happy temper, so much that even Hibari himself didn't dare so much as sit next to the hitman whenever they slept.

"Less?" Ryohei blinked. "Sounds like they might be coming in numbers by next week. We might have to leave this place."

"I agree," Chrome nodded weakly as she stroked Fuuta's hair. "It's sad... This place is a really nice place, though..."

"But where can we go?" Yamamoto asked. "We were lucky we found this inn in the first place."

"That's true," Reborn noted. "The best option is to go hide in the forest near here. No one lives in these forests and we could make do with what we have here."

"That's cutting it close to the Akuma if they come here," Ryohei frowned, his tongue winding on the new term. The correct term for the demons that popped up since last month was Akuma, as the innkeeper said. It was rather easy for all of them to get used to the name, but they occasionally slipped to "demons," and "creatures."

"Yeah," Yamamoto agreed. "But if that's the best option, I guess we'd have to go with it. But… can we take some people here with us?"

"You know how it goes, Yamamoto," Reborn said sternly. "We're already one big party. We won't be able to move out fast if we add more people to our group. Besides, everyone else seems to have their own escape options. They're not as dull as we think they are."

"Mmmmm…"

Everyone turned to Tsuna's direction. The boy had been settled in his futon, and he was merely rolling over to the side, groaning as he went to sleep again. Chrome shook her head worriedly, and glanced at the other men in the room, who were also as deeply concerned.

"I should go get more water for Tsuna," she suggested, gently placing Fuuta and Lambo's head down on their respective pillows, and walked towards the sliding doors, leaving then with a hollow thump of wood. She took small meek steps down the halls, encased in many screens that were lit from behind. All the girl could hear were faint whispers and crying, both men and women alike. The people here must have been having a hard time dealing with the sudden appearance of Akuma, too.

She was finally at the back door, a heavily sealed lock awaiting her. It had taken quite a while for her to figure out how the door could be opened properly, but thanks to the people who stayed here at the inn, she was very knowledgeable about the many inner workings of the inn's exits. Reborn was quite pleased to know that there was someone in the party who could help trace escape routes should there be Akuma that came to attack.

Chrome's hands hovered over the first lock when she heard a faint clap of clothed feet on the wooden floor.

"Be careful when you're on the way out, Miss Dokuro."

The girl spun on her feet and noticed that a middle aged man standing at the ark of the doorway, his hands leaning on the wooden posts of the doorway. He was dressed a handful of scarves and robes, so much that one look at him would have made one believe he was quite big boned, but his hands and head told otherwise of his size. His red hair was speckled with strands of brown and beige from the dust and cobwebs that he caught whenever he walked into the deeper parts of the inn. What was most striking to Chrome was how strangely brilliant the shade of green in his eyes were. They were clearly a color she considered more than normal, and she couldn't place a finger as to how they should be called. The best she could say about him was that he was most definitely a pure foreigner.

"Mr. Bookman," Chrome muttered, embarrassment rising to her cheeks, and she backed away from the door, hoping she didn't look too suspicious. "I… I was going to get some water..."

The innkeeper chuckled, stepping down to the entryway, slipping into his own pair of sandals. He walked towards the door, reaching for a lever at the top of the door, just the place where Chrome couldn't reach. She could hear the lock click open automatically, and Mr. Bookman smiled down at her, that warm demeanor glowing out of his face.

"For the ill boy who is staying with you, no?" He guessed, and received a nod. "Shall I accompany you? It will be much better if a young lady like yourself would not go by herself."

"Th-thank you…" Chrome muttered, and with a small laugh, Mr. Bookman pushed open the heavy metal doors. They stepped out into a run-down village square with a strong lack of civilization behind its walls. Akuma had come here invading long before Chrome and the others arrived to this village, and the place literally uninhabited, save for the inn that they found later. The sunlight had been cut off for so long, the trees themselves were wilting, and the houses lost their painted luster. A lone wind was the only that could be heard in this vacant town.

A small tap on her shoulder made her jump, and she stared back at those unsettling green eyes.

"Now, we shouldn't be standing out here for too long," he said, pointing to his storage cabin. "We should get out of this not-so-fresh air and get water for everyone. It won't do for the two of us to get sick from this Akuma dust flying everywhere."

Chrome nodded quickly, and followed him in a scurrying manner, hoping she didn't cause an embarrassment out of herself just walking with the innkeeper.

* * *

"_You're volunteering for guard duty, yes?"_

_Reborn nodded quietly, his eyes trained on the redheaded innkeeper. Something was entirely off about the man, and the Arcobaleno didn't like it at all. Mr. Bookman always carried this strange aura that only Reborn and the Arcobaleno themselves possessed, as if their age was a complete lie. Was this man even thirty years old as he claimed? It sure didn't seem like it._

_Mr. Bookman got up from sitting on the pillow cushions on the tatami floor. In just a few light steps, he was already across the room where his massive collection of drawers, scrolls and books, all stacked up neatly and rolled with extra care. He procured an interesting little wooden box that had little appeal to it, other than the fact that Reborn could identify the box to be of a nice kind of cherry wood._

"_If you are going to fight the Akuma," he said. "It would be best if you decide on my offer here."_

"_What do you mean?" The frown deepened on Reborn's lips._

"_You seem to be having a hard time taking down an Akuma at all, no?" Mr. Bookman really hit that weak point now, and he seemed quite aware of it, too, by the knowing glint in those sharp green eyes._

"_Yes," Reborn answered, with uncertainty dripping from that response._

"_Then I have something that would be of use to you, and your party," The redhead suggested, and he opened the box for Reborn to see._

_In the box lay a vial of a strange green liquid, glowing faintly a shade of neon at times. It had been placed cleanly in the capsule with a rather thick piece of corkscrew at the top of it. Reborn was not really expecting such an item to be hidden in that box, but this glowing water was rather interesting to look at._

"_What is this, you may ask?" Mr. Bookman clearly read the hitman's mind, much to the latter's frustration. "This is an ancient weapon used by specialists who formerly worked to eliminate these Akuma. At that time, they were called Innocence. We have different names for it now, but old-timers like me call it Innocence. There's a long story about how it came to be, but I'd rather not waste your time."_

"_I'd highly suggest that," The hitman retorted. No matter how much this man seemed so nice, Reborn couldn't help but really want to leave this room. For once, he was actually anxious about life, and this was no good sign._

"_Now, usually, Innocence chooses its wielders," Mr. Bookman continued. "But we can accommodate for that by your other unnatural source of power."_

_Reborn tensed at the mention of it, and repeated almost hesitantly. "Our… flames?"_

"_That's what they're called?" The innkeeper raised an eyebrow skeptically before returning to the conversation. "Well, anyways, you can enhance your weapon with just one drop of this substance. Usually, I'd have a big stash of it around me, but on my trip this time, I've only got one of these bottles, it's good enough for ten people, considering that your party may hold several weapons, you might want to chop that down to five."_

_Mr. Bookman set the open box before Reborn and looked up at him expectantly._

"_So, what do you say? Do you want to use this, or not?"_

_Reborn pondered on the thought of just grabbing the vial and destroying it, but there was not a chance he would want to risk anyone in his group for a bottle of nothing. He stared at the bottle, and then up to Leon, who was sleeping on the rim of his hat. He wasn't sure how Leon was going to take a foreign substance, or what difference it would make to Leon's shape shifting ability. Oh, how he hated sink or swim situations like these._

"_Fine," the hitman's mouth spouted out words that were not clearly his own. "I'll be the first to try it, and if it works, I'll consider the rest of my party to use it as well."_

_Mr. Bookman gave him an appreciative smile as the small hitman reached for the vial. At this moment, the Arcobaleno was ready to regret having ever listen to the redhead to follow through all this, but after he realized he could destroy the first Akuma he saw after that in a one-hit kill, he had a small ounce of respect for the innkeeper for giving him such a gift._

* * *

Hibari was not exactly ready to leave his post from Akuma duty, but Yamamoto and Ryohei increasingly persisted after ten minutes. After much persuasion, he had to get back inside because he couldn't stand the crowd of just two more people shouting at him and pointing repeatedly at the front doors of the inn. He could see where the front door was very well, thank you very much.

He was approaching the entryway, when he noticed that a certain pair of sandals were missing. Suddenly, he had a deep urge to draw out his trusty pair of tonfas and deliver an uppercut to someone's jaw, and he was becoming very irritated indeed. Then he felt it, that very annoying aura of a certain herbivore… well, it couldn't be a herbivore… it was too hollow.

However, before he could move, a small tap of metal on his head clearly determined his twentieth loss in the past few weeks.

"Nice to see that a young boy like yourself is getting some rest," a cheerful chirp whizzed past him, and Hibari was now looking at the back of a mass of cloth and flying scarves, and little flash of red hair. Sticking out of those bunches of clothing was a hand waving a small metal hammer, entirely made out of some black metal he couldn't identify.

Mr. Bookman always seemed to carry that blasted item everywhere, and it was always in his hand before they could blink. Now, the prefect never saw that blasted innkeeper use the hammer for anything but thwacking people gently over the head. At least could tell it was not a hammer for mechanical work like fixing doors and bookshelves, since it was far too intricately crafted to look like something that should be kept on a shelf of antique collectibles.

But never mind that, since Hibari was far too much beyond anger to think about how pretty a little black hammer looked like. A low growl came out of the former prefect's mouth as he grumbled to take off his shoes before entering the rest of the inn. Why was that man always able to get to him so easily, that bastard? He could feel the man approaching and retreating from him, but never had he caught Mr. Bookman in the act of his little pranks. It frustrated him to no end, and he was rather ready to tear down the inn just to find answers, but out of common courtesy, he had to let it slide. At a time like this, he shouldn't let his antics get ahead, especially if he wanted to find the real cause of "Akuma."

He quietly walked to his own personal room, well, it wasn't personal very much. They were only allowed one room to share when they came to this inn, so he had the choice of dying on the roof with a sleeping bag, or rooming with the baby and eight other herbivores and living. His choice. His life.

He opened the sliding door with a slow clack, and he saw a young woman (Yoko, was it?) tending to his party's current invalid, Tsuna. Hibari had seen the girl before, tending to a lot of the other people around here like Mr. Bookman himself. While most of the people were very grateful to her help, he and the rest of his group were not very good at giving thanks to someone like her. Mostly because if she had swapped hair colors from brown to golden yellow, she would have made Ryohei and Tsuna faint from guilt and shock. Yamamoto sputtered whenever Yoko wanted to talk to him, and that baby, and the children, and Chrome weren't really that approachable, either. Ryohei, of course, always cleared the room and leave if she came in his sight. All because she was too much like his sister. Way too much.

Yoko looked up at the new addition to the room, and squeaked, quickly setting down the tray of food she had prepared for Tsuna. She scurried out of the room, muttering a quick hello to him before fleeing his sight. Hibari walked into the room, and tried to choose the nearest corner possible to rest. Hopefully, the herbivores didn't disturb his sleep, or they'd very well pay for that.

"Yoko…" A small voice came from the other side of the room. "She… was… kind…"

Hibari glanced at the still "shell-shocked" Tsuna, who was sitting up in his futon, staring blankly at the still open door. He was still wearing those mittens since he was rescued from his own house, and his rings and Box Weapons were set aside by his futon, right on his food tray that remained untouched. Some reason, the prefect felt a sigh of relief in his mind, especially when the boy managed to speak a bit. It was progress that this herbivore was getting better and not dragging everyone down with him. Honestly, that was what he thought.

Reborn, Fuuta, Chrome, and Lambo should be here, but it seemed like they had gone elsewhere. Reborn, of course, would most likely be walking around trying to find anything suspicious. Lambo and Fuuta should be hanging around Mr. Bookman, who was surprisingly very good with children when he wasn't cooped up in his room skimming through those large scrolls he had in there. Chrome, as usual, would be with Fuuta and Lambo, accompanying the two as if she were their mother. So, naturally, he was stuck with this certain herbivore for quite a while.

Since he can't fall asleep with an unemotional herbivore looking at him all day, Hibari decided to examine his tonfas for good measure. He took them out, and checked for any abnormalities. Since he used them daily, he much preferred these things be in pristine condition before and after he used them. Luckily, none this time, so he put them away.

While Hibari did take the Innocence that the baby handed to him for his Box weapons and his Vongola Ring, he was beginning to get even more bored with how much he could these demons far too easily. Now, he didn't want to jinx the security of safety he had at the moment, but he wanted some more thrill into his current fights, perhaps an Akuma who could fight as well as he?

"Um... Mister..."

Hibari looked up and saw that Yoko had come back again, and she was carrying two glasses of water with her. He was quite grateful she somehow knew that the two of would be parched, but his face didn't show it.

"I... I thought you would be thirsty..." she said hesitantly, and she was clutching the cups in fear that he'd pounce at her, but all he did was nod and let her walk in. Yoko took the subtle gesture of welcome to place one of those glasses a few feet away from Hibari before going back to Tsuna again. The Cloud Guardian watched in silence as she continued to help Tsuna by setting the food on his lap and urging him to eat, just like Chrome would, but with more volume in her voice.

"Please, Tsuna," she said to him. "Please eat your food today. Your friends were saying you haven't been eating enough."

Dull brown eyes traced their way to her own and hen reconsidered the tray again. He stared at it calculatingly and he was most certainly going to take the food, especially if it's Kyo-

Just as the young mafia boss could reach the spoon on his tray, the recognizable wail of a nearby bugle made everyone jump. Several shouts sounded in the halls, and terrified people were suddenly filing out of heir rooms.

"Akuma!" a terrified sentry shouted above the din. "An army!"

Opportunity sparkled in Hibari'a eyes, and he rose to his feet quickly, tonfas drawn out. He looked back at Yoko and Tsuna who were still sitting there, looking at him. What to do with them...

"Out of the way!" A familiar shout resounded in the bustle outside, and Hibari noticed that the loud boxer and baseball swordsman had come back. They were both sweaty and worn out from just wrestling through the crowd. Now that they were here, they would have to move Tsuna to the forest, just as Reborn had planned. Ryohei pitched forward and hoisted Tsuna in his arms, taking the smaller body away and out of the room. Yamamoto followed after, silently giving regards to Hibari for keeping watching over their boss for a little bit.

Yoko also burst out of the room in a panic and went straight for the innkeeper's office. Hibari wondered if that man was still alive at all, so he went after the girl to see the fate of his current nemesis. He followed ways behind as he watched Yoko stumble in her yukata as she tried to run. When she finally found a door and slid it open, she wore a look of surprise, prompting Hibari to peek inside himself.

The room was almost cleaned out, and there were barely any of those books, scrolls and boxes that Mr. Bookman usually stored here. They both looked to the corner where the innkeeper himself was slowly fitting the last of his scrolls into his traveling trunk. He was now flipping the clasps shut as he got up to his feet, only as if he were just going to leave instead of feverishly going for the exits. He noticed the presence of both the former prefect and his assistant, and flashed them a smiling with sparkling green eyes.

"Nice to see that you two have concern about me," He said, drawing out his "antique" hammer, "Or did you want to see my own secret exit?"

Before they could speak, they heard more thundering of footsteps, and they saw Ryohei, Yamamoto, Chrome and the children in retreat. They saw Hibari, and ran towards him, reaching for safety at the door.

"Duck!" Yamamoto hollered, and immediately after that, a massive gust of wind ripped through the paper doors, splintering the flimsy wooden frames. Yoko shrieked in fright as an entire room divider collapsed on her cradled position, and several coughs came from Yamamoto's direction. There were several shouts from outside, and imprints of a large bonfire were going on, crackling with the inhumane laughing of the demons outside.

The ceiling was completely blown off, and anyone who had any view of it could see the large Akuma towering over the inn and the rest of the village under the purple and red sky. This time, they were large spindly creatures with plaster white masks, grinning at the center. With these demons and the presence of those other ones, this was not a good playing field.

"Everyone all right?" Mr. Bookman shouted, and there was a soft crunching of wood as the innkeeper stepped through the rubble. Wooden slabs shifted aside, revealing rather disheveled Vongola Guardians.

"Fine," Yamamoto chirped, and Reborn jumped off of his back, Leon quickly changing into a pistol.

"There was a herd of them outside, just like the sentries said," the little hitman grumbled before turning to Mr. Bookman. "You said there was an exit only you know, right?"

"Sure can do!" The redhead nodded, and he went towards the bookshelf. He fitted his hands in the small gap between two of them, and pushed them apart with ease. As the shelves flew across the room, everyone gasped at a huge set of doors that used to be concealed.

"We'll just have to go in our little safe house here until the chaos ends," The innkeeper noted. "And we can take the passage behind these doors to the forest. You were going to go there, weren't you?"

The sudden knowledge of their plans made Reborn jump, and he answered back, but bitterly, "Yes."

"Good," Mr. Bookman pulled back on the handles, and as soon as the doors were open, Ryohei, with Tsuna, pounced towards the room first. However, they stopped when a slab of wood blew up in front of them.

"They're here!" Mr. Bookman shouted. "Hurry, into the door!"

Yamamoto shoved Ryohei from behind, with Hibari following after, and they took refuge as another pile of broken house was blown to bits by a large bullet. They clambered behind the door, and Mr. Bookman and Yamamoto were ready to shut it closed when they heard a startled shout. Ryohei peered out first and saw that Yoko had tripped on her yukata and fell on the floor, right in the vicinity of an Akuma.

"Yoko!" Ryohei shouted, and he tossed Tsuna to Yamamoto, who caught the boy hurriedly. The boxer blitzed past the doors, with Yamamoto and Mr. Bookman shouting at Ryohei to get back inside, but he didn't listen. He kept running forward, swerving to the side to avoid any bullets coming this way.

Suddenly, the walls were entirely smashed down, and he could see the face of the Akuma trying to fit into the holes it made in the house. Another was a bit smarter and was going upon them from the broken ceiling. Aside from the trepidation of facing two gigantic Akuma, he was fully resolved to save Yoko. Just look at that. The one demon going through the hole in the wall was reaching it hands out to grab her.

He wouldn't make it, they all thought. Even with Maximum Cannon and a proper boost from the floor, he still wouldn't make it. Just before the Akuma could lay a hand on Yoko and Ryohei was ready to jump, a beam of orange light flew past them, and a large wall of orange flames made contact with the poisonous bullets coming their way. Everyone was agape at just how powerful those flames, and further yet, who was making them. The realization didn't dawn on them until Yamamoto noticed how his hands were no longer carrying anything.

"Tsuna!" He shouted, looking forward at the mass of orange embers up ahead, and everyone was suddenly so attentive.

Indeed, the young boss of Vongola was there, and he was fully in Hyper Dying Will mode, as one could tell from his sharp orange eyes, still hollow, but alert. His gloves were set aflame, and his companion of a lion cub was purring right on his shoulder. His arms were outstretched in a human shield right before Yoko, who was gasping from fright of his sudden appearance. Ryohei was very still, not very sure if Tsuna was going to do well. But he was too afraid of the situation to move his feet.

"Oh?" The Akuma looked at Tsuna with a curious expression. "You think you can stop me, mere human?"

"T…Tsu… na…" Yamamoto muttered under his breath, and placed his hand on the hilt of Shigure Kintoki, should he need to go and help his boss. The brown haired boy looked back at them warningly, as if to say "don't come close." He glanced down at Ryohei who was still down at the floor, but with one icy cold stare, the boxer was scrambling to his feet and back to the confines of the safe house.

"You tried to hurt Yoko," the boy said in a hoarse whisper, since he really didn't use his voice in quite a while. "I'll make you pay."

"Ahahaha, you look powerful, alright," The demon cackled. "But foolish human, you've already lost this game."

"You say so?" Tsuna murmured, but he heard a gasp from Yoko. He spun around, and stared at her with wide eyes, taking in the sight of her arms and torso becoming black dust. Pentagrams began to grow and spawn over her entire body as if someone was stamping black paint on her skin.

"Yoko…" Mr. Bookman's tone was entirely crestfallen, and Hibari turned to Chrome, who shrunk back in fear, with the children in tow. Hopefully, they weren't seeing this at all. Tsuna bent down to grasp her hand, but as soon as her delicate, blackened fingers made contact with the metal of his gauntlets, they crumbled to black dust, and Tsuna could only tremble as the fine dust dropped to the floor and out of his palms. He then took a sharp intake of breath when her other hand grasped his, and crumbled away entirely like the first one.

His gaze was directed at her, and her face was already black with stars imprinted on her cheeks. Her eyes were begging for just another year to survive, but her lips were pursed into a tight smile, as if she accepted her fate as of now. She knew, the thought ran through Tsuna's head, she knew…

"Pl-please…" What was left of her mouth was still intact. "Please leave me here…"

"Y-Yoko…"

Only a little bit of the girl's lips were left, and her eyes were glistening, as if she were too happy now, "Just… don't…"

Before she could say anything more, the girl was entirely black and purple dust. Hope drained from everyone's stomach as Tsuna lurched forward and grasped at the black dust, wishing that if he could shape it back into the girl, he could fix it all. Yamamoto grasped his bamboo sword again, knowing he'll have to get out there. He heard the clinking of equipment behind him, and realized that everyone else felt the same.

"Yoko! Yoko!" Tsuna was shouting at the inanimate pile. "KYOKO!"

"See?" The Akuma taunted him, and the wall of fire was slowly disintegrating, making way for the demons to come closer. "You've already lost the game, so just line up here and die-"

The same Akuma's head was cleanly ripped off of its body, and the repulsive object landed a few feet before the party taking refuge in the still open safe house. Chrome huddled Fuuta and Lambo away from the sight of a pained monster, and Yamamoto, Reborn, Mr. Bookman, and even Hibari were appalled by the sudden death of such a powerful Akuma. Ryohei was looking back at them with a shocked expression, until the innkeeper pointed up, that is.

Up in the open ceiling were the sky was littered with demons, large bursts of orange fire were popping up in the unlikeliest of places, in a speed far too fast for anyone to comprehend. Hibari's eyes flicked with the words of "impressive" etched all over his face. Reborn, who could barely make out the battle above, began hopping quickly out of the safe house, earning questioning glances from Yamamoto and Ryohei.

"It's Tsuna," he said automatically. "He's gone berserk. He's lost control of himself, and it won't be anytime soon when he goes off on us, too."

"Sawada?" Ryohei was abhorred. "But-"

A loud battle roar of a child ripped through the air, and an entire beeline of Akuma was annihilated in a spectacular display of lethal fireworks. Reborn looked back at the Guardians, with Leon fully loaded and transformed into a sniper rifle. The sudden realization of what the baby hitman was going to do turned the switch in the Ryohei's system.

He ran forward, and attempted to swipe away the rifle from the baby's hands, but Reborn was too fast for something like that. When he landed in a harsh slide, he looked up at the Sun Guardian, who was clearly enraged by the hitman's decision.

"Don't kill him, Reborn!" He shouted. "We can't kill Sawada! That's… That's just extremely unfair!"

"And how so?" The baby spat back coldly, befitting of a seasoned assassin, but not of a ten month old child. "I'm putting the kid out of his misery."

"Oh, really, I'd like to-"

"Ryohei!" Yamamoto attempted to hold the boxer off. "Pull yourself together!"

"But can't you see it, Yamamoto!" The Sun Guardian roared at his friend. "Tsuna's going to die, and you're just going to-"

"Ryohei," Yamamoto tightened his grip on the man's shoulders, his voice to a dangerous whisper. "You're going mad yourself. Please stop it."

He turned to Reborn with a disappointed expression, and it startled everyone to see that Yamamoto wasn't really in a good mood at all, with explosions and infighting.

"Little baby," the Rain Guardian spoke. "Can't we think a bit more before we off Tsuna? Please? Tsuna's your student, and you may know better how to deal with him, but as his friends, we can't just kill him because he's angry. I'm sure we can make him stop this. I'm sure we can…"

"No." The answer was cold and clear. No exceptions, and the sniper was clicking to shoot.

"Screw this," Ryohei roared, and he lit the golden yellow flames on his two rings. A kangaroo adorned in boxing equipment and yellow flames sprang out of one of his rings, and a pair of boxing gloves and a protective sparring helmet fitted itself on the man's body. He sprang from the ground, and went for the bundle of orange flames up in the sky, punching through any Akuma through the gut if they got in his way.

Yamamoto did the same, and he was propelling himself with his Rain Flames right after Ryohei, busily slashing his way through. Tsuna was their friend, and they will have to save him, no matter what.

"Screw this," Yamamoto muttered to himself.

* * *

A clank of a sniper rifle on the ground made left Reborn's mouth hanging. The baby hitman's gaze went to the ground with a regretful expression on his face. It was a pitiful feeling, becoming too brash in a dangerous situation, and he, of all people, was not acting nicely to the problem… How embarrassing…

Hope I could find espresso somewhere, the hitman thought, then I could wind back a bit about this.

"Herbivores," Hibari's snort came from the direction of the safe house, and the Cloud Guardian walked straight out of the safe house. "If you intend to sit there any further, I'll stop the herbi… omnivore myself."

"Oh, me, too," Mr. Bookman voluntarily raised his hand, waving his little hammer with the other. Hibari just glared at him as if he was crazy, but he laughed it off, just like that annoying Bucking Bronco idiot who annoyed him a lot.

"You're going to need my help, you know," he chuckled. "Because, you see, I'm a pro at this stuff…"

He looked up at the blazing sky as a mix of yellow, orange and blue fire flew around, and pieces of Akuma were raining upon the inn and the ground around it. The only way he could say it was impressive was the loud whistle that escaped his lips.

"Your buddies up there are doing quite a good job…"

Hibari merely scoffed and was ready to take off when Mr. Bookman stopped him.

"Wait! I need you for something! Baby, you too!"

"What did you call me?" Reborn growled as he reluctantly made his way through the rubble towards the redhead, his sniper rifle in tow.

"Here, here, I'm going to make this super special attack. Let's work together, yeah?"

"And how exactly is that going to work?"

"First," Mr. Bookman pointed at Reborn. "You, baby, are going to protect the safe-house. So you stay down here. All right? Bye bye."

Before Reborn could say anything, the innkeeper was suddenly carrying a humongous hammer that was five times his size, and he said a command, and the handle of the hammer began shooting up into the sky, carrying him away, while HIbari was hoisted up by the scruff of the neck. Now the hitman was left alone with Chrome and the kids…

"… What?"

* * *

**A/N:**_ Bookman's move over there does not exist at all. I made that up, because the manga's too slow, and we don't know what the South and West Crime's are. And Hibari's softened up, for some peculiar reason that is really not a good idea. Also, I know it gets chaotic near the end (well, the situation really does get chaotic)._

_And yes, Lavi is the weird Mr. Bookman we see here (but he did something to make himself age slower, it seems)._


	4. Lost But Never Found

**A Piano's Requiem**

**Ch 04 – Lost But Never Found**

_A small sigh escaped the redhead's lips as he gave a heavy slam onto the wooden counter on his mug of some alcoholic of… well, at this point, he couldn't remember what he had ordered, but it was mildly strong. He needed to cool down, he thought before, with all the shock and distractions, he needed a small break in between the action._

_Surprisingly, he appeared in the busy streets of London, just enough to find the nearest bar in the next few hours he spent wandering about. He had no plans at the moment, but he kept thinking to himself that he was going to come up with one as soon as he finished his drink._

_Nothing seemed to have happened since he had landed in London. No urgent telegraphs of demons raiding the forsaken seas near Naples. No alerts of high massacres in the mainland of Europe. Just a fine smoggy morning in the industrialized heart of Britain. But, it was understandable, since it has only been just a day since he had escaped from the Earl's place. The Earl must be trying to mobilize the Akuma to different parts of the world to take out humanity all at once. Yes, that was good food for thought._

_The hairs on his back the stood up as he felt a haunting presence approaching him from behind. Stiffly, Lavi set his glass down, careful to not let a single utterance of clinking ice reach his newfound opponent's ears. The bar was still half-packed like it had been when he first came, so he had to act subtle against this person. He made a motion to check for his pocketwatch, when he was really reaching for his hammer…_

_"Fancy meeting you here, Bookman Junior."_

_The voice was familiar to the redhead's ears, sultry to make women swoon, but very chilling to one's spine [1]. The relaxed tone this man carried was enough to make Lavi feel inclined to just slack in his shoulders and turn around, his eyes set on a lightly-skinned man with brown curly hair. He was dressed sharply in dark frock coat, not a single speck of dust on his shoulders. He must have been on his way to a tea party, if it were not for the oddly displaced newsboy cap he must have picked up on the way. As great as he looked, Lavi wasn't going to return the "let's just talk" gesture._

_"What are you doing here," the redhead asked, his voice descending to a low growl. He received a small chuckle from the Noah of Pleasure._

_"I've heard you've made it out," Tyki mused, completely ignoring Lavi's unwelcoming impression as he pulled up a chair beside the Bookman apprentice. Lavi continued to mentally shoot strings of curses at the man until he noticed how the Noah slumped as he sat down, exhausted, fatigued. He didn't seem able to pull out any more jokes out of his hat, especially when he could hear a small wheeze from the man's lips. Lavi could almost pity the solemn expression on Tyki's face, and then looked at the bartender._

_"Another one, for this lad," he spoke almost like a command, and the bartender merely nodded, sliding a glass over to him. The Bookman apprentice caught it and then gently placed it in front of Tyki's face. The Noah's small hint of heavy breathing stopped as he looked at Lavi questionably. The redhead merely shrugged._

_"You looked peaky," he explained, even if there wasn't a reason. "You might've needed something to drink a bit heavier than water… Look, you're even shaking in your hands. Just drink it."_

_Tyki gave a small nod before lifting the glass to his lips. A small gulp, and he set it down, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. It was inevitable that he was ill, Lavi thought as he watched the supposedly well-collected man crumble before his eyes. The man's disguised white form was deathly white as a sheet, and his eyes were swollen from having shed tears for a family of fourteen._

_"You can feel it, can you?" The words immediately rolled off of Lavi's tongue, earning a visible shudder from Tyki. It was understandable. The last time Skinn Bolic had supposedly died, Tyki and Road had spent a good hour weeping for no particular reason with small pangs in their rising chests. It was only one family member, but now that ten of them perished at the same time… the results were unimaginable._

_"I understand," Lavi continued, turning away from the broken Noah, and staring at the countless racks of wine, beer, all kinds of alcoholic beverages. Tyki took another shaky sip, and he continued to remain silent as Lavi gazed at the entrance of the bar, wondering if the screams of terrified citizens would rise soon enough._

_"I saw Road before I escaped," the Bookman added. "She had a few words for me. That I was a good opponent… and that He is going after Walker in the final hour."_

_He received no answer. Tyki was not getting any better, especially from hearing mention of his favorite sister. The Noah of Pleasure was very close to that of Dreams, and the siblings were a good pair in the midst of a battle. They got along quite well… didn't that also include his other brother… almost his own twin…_

_"They're going after the boy?" He asked to confirm, his head turning slowly to the redhead, who was tugging at his green bandanna._

_"Indeed," the young man gave a small snap, and he whipped out a map of the England. "He's currently in Liverpool with 'relatives.' Time can only tell if we'll make it in time."_

_Hope. Both of them. They needed this. A small smile crept to the Noah's face as he rolled back the map and placed it back into Lavi's hands._

_"That's only if we leave at this very moment, Bookman Junior."_

_Surprised by the sudden comeback of the clearly tired man, the redhead could only nod and watch as a Noah set out to recover the remnant of a blood-bound family. It was fine with him, he decided to trail along, too. They both were in the same predicament, so there should be agreement on both sides. Or, perhaps, they had already agreed on this a long time ago. [2]_

-*-awieufahw

A horrible mess was unfolding in the skies above the last piece of a tattered inn. Fragments of foreign metal were raining down in all directions, and the shrieking of terrified demons resounded the heavens, away from the true demon himself.

"Sawada!" Ryohei screamed, leaping off of the back of a subdued Akuma and taking out another with Maximum Ingram. His kangaroo was joining in the action, clearing the way for him to reach his battle-crazed friend. Clearly, the Vongola Tenth was not listening to anyone's pleas at all.

Yamamoto ducked under a stray fireball that flew right towards him, catching an unsuspecting Akuma behind him. He rejoined Ryohei, who was seething at the bruises that Tsuna had done onto his wrists.

"No use!" Yamamoto shouted above the din. "We can't get ourselves hurt in this Akuma raid!"

"Allow me."

A streak of white and black flashed by the two Guardians, directly at the rampaging Vongola Tenth.

"Hibari!" Ryohei shouted after the prefect as he ran forward.

"You are becoming more of a herbivore every minute," The prefect stated as he dodged under a swing of an arm that could have hit his face. "Despite the power you possess…"

A foot connected with Hibari's gut, and the prefect was sent hurtling away in the air. Roll [2] caught him and sent him flying back. Tonfa collided with metal gloves, and a roundhouse was sent at side almost too quickly. Tsuna then went for another haymaker, but Hibari countered with a tonfa.

"Herbivore, you fail to see what's wrong," Hibari murmured, actually straining himself against Tsuna's own strength. He had not expected Tsuna to be able to hit with such strength, and that there was high chance that Hibari could lose.

"You are not by yourself," He continued. However, his tonfas were ripped from his hands and were sent hurtling to the ground below. Weaponless, the prefect attempted to resort to fists, but Tsuna gave a good punch to the stomach again. Having been injured there just a moment ago, Hibari could swing his arm forward to swat Tsuna away. What a fool he was, the prefect thought, to throw away his humility for something as silly as helping a mere weakling from losing himself.

But then he felt a pair of hands grasping his shoulders. Tsuna was panting heavily, the Dying Will Flame still burning. He seemed willing enough to listen now, after so much fighting, or perhaps he finally realized he was running himself raw and was finally feeling fatigue?

"Why…?" Tsuna's voice quivered. Hibari kept his expression as blank as possible.

"You are not the only one who's lost something precious to you," he spoke, almost quietly, but he could tell that Tsuna could hear him. "You are not the only one who feels the pain of having lost something that you love so dearly you'd die because you no longer have it."

-*-aweiufhaweh

_Hibari wasn't sure why he was caught off guard something other than a monster. He remembered sitting about on the rooftop of his beloved school when Kusakabe came strolling in from the door, a full report in hand. The vice-president was aware that his superior wasn't going to read it, so he began reading it anyways. The man with the pompadour hairdo began to talk, and Hibari merely listened, hearing nothing out of the ordinary (besides destruction of certain warehouses that the baby used for training herbivores), while Hibird nestled in his hair._

_After the report was finished, Hibird began to sing its usual song, and Hibari merely closed his eyes, enjoying the music. It was no longer enjoyable when the little bird began to squawk rapidly._

_"Hibari! Hibari!" It cried, and the prefect stood up, his feet on guard. He felt nothing, but his attention turned to the sky. It was blood red, far too rich for the afternoon, yet he felt no sinister presence._

_"Hibari!"_

_For the first time in years, the prefect felt himself shoved aside for the sake of protection, and Hibird was left off balance, falling off his shoulder. When he had regained his senses, a demon was staring at his face, and his vice-president had been gunned down all too cleanly. His precious bird was nowhere to be found, besides the monster's taunts of what happened to the poor thing._

_The school began to tremble underneath him, and Hibari could only gaze almost indifferently at the cracks forming on the roof, eyes glazed over in hate._

-*-aweufahweo

"Like I've said before," Hibari spoke, almost in a snarl, as he tore away one of those hands grasping his shoulders. "You aren't the only one."

He could see the slack in the boy's hands as he lightly swung the prefect away from him. A Cloud Hedgehog caught Hibari and they watched as Tsuna went drifting off, still facing the new line of Akuma, but a pair of arms wrapped around him. Yamamoto was holding back his boss, hoping that

"Tsuna, we all have something to fight for, don't we?" Yamamoto pleaded. "Please, just come back to us."

Tsuna muttered quietly. "Come… back…"

"Yes," Yamamoto said reassuringly. "Please… come back."

"Back…" the calmed mafia boss muttered under his breath. "I… can do that…"

The Dying Will Flames began to die out as the Vongola Tenth fell to his sleep. Ryohei swiped at the boy but missed by centimeters. Everyone gasped in horror that a friend was going to plunge headfirst to the ground hundreds of feet below.

"Tsuna!"

Just before Yamamoto could go speeding after his friend, a certain redhead made it in time, and caught the fallen Vongola Tenth with one arm, another to the handle of his massive hammer.

"Ah, that was close," he laughed nervously. He then looked up at the three Vongola Guardians, all bruised and injured in some form or another. He wanted to place his hands on his hips and "scold" them, but his hands were full. Specifically, that Cloud guy was quite the nuisance, not listening to his opinion.

"Now, little Hibari," The innkeeper mused. "You look like you've been mauled by a cat. Now do you see why you should have listened to me?"

The Cloud Guardian didn't answer, and merely muttered something insulting before launching off to another cluster of Akuma, his Vongola weapons activated once more. Yamamoto and Ryohei wanted to tell him to stop, considering that he was injured, but Bookman came across them and pointed at the other Akuma that were still around. There was still half an army left to get rid of, and they had no time to heal themselves.

"We can't leave little Hibari by himself, can we?" the man teased. "Now, Ryohei, catch."

"Wha-"

The Sun Guardian nearly screamed when the innkeeper literally tossed Tsuna at him like a baseball, and he quickly caught the poor unconscious boy. He returned with a small glare, wondering if that man had any respect for other humans at all.

"Send him down to Reborn and the others," Bookman suggested to the boxer. "It won't do for us to be fighting with a load on our backs."

As much as Ryohei did want to pummel that man for hurting a friend of his, he had to comply. This was no time for petty scuffles.

"Gotcha!"

He hefted the limp form of his best friend and began bounding down to the ground, feeling Tsuna's heavy weight flop against his own back as he jumped down from each demon that was still fluttering under the sea of monsters above them. He took once glance back before speeding away down to the ground. Hopefully, Reborn and others were faring well with the muscles of the party fighting above.

"Now," Bookman looked at his only companion left and pointed at a large group of Akuma. "Why don't we take this side of the Akuma? They're quiet some easy ones, thankfully."

The Rain Guardian replied with a hesitant nod, and they flew towards the demons that strayed from Hibari into their own little group. Yamamoto went first, increasing the power of his flames to propel himself towards the demons. With Shigure Kintoki, he made a clean slice through one round ball of a demon, and a second slice through another. He swerved to the side to avoid the flying chunk of metal. However, he looked around, and grimaced at the sheer number. He could only eliminate a few at a time, and who knew how long that would take?

"Having some trouble?" The Bookman yelled, and only after a blink, the Rain Guardian could see the back of coarse jacket and a handful of scarves blowing into his face.

"Mr. Bookman!"

Yamamoto then noticed the lack of one short sword, and glanced back at the Bookman's hand. Why was it still activated when the man was holding onto it? Shouldn't it be unusable to anyone else but the wielder of the Vongola Rain Flames?

"How are you able to-"

"I know a lot of things, kid," Bookman grinned. "Step aside, kid."

The man held onto his Hammer, and let it sweep aside, creating a large gust of wind flying to the side. Two giant seals appeared before him, both of which Yamamoto couldn't really read, and the innkeeper swung his hammer forth, slamming the head of iron into the combined seal. Yamamoto could hear the redheaded man chanting under his breath as the force of the hammer began to build up thunderclouds and sparks.

"Konbo Ban: Gouraiten!"

Instantly, a whirlwind of fire swept across the army of Akuma, followed by a dragon, completely adorned with lightning and a tail of electricity. The newly-made creature flew about the sky, burning away a great miles radius of demons. When it ran out of its energy, it disintegrated away, and left the entire area almost barren.

The innkeeper looked back at the gaping Rain Guardian, and he gave a wide grin.

"What, did you think I was some little bookworm who owns tea shops?" he teased. A demon was approaching him from behind, and quickly, the man swung his large hammer around, bashing the demon on the side of the face so badly, it merely tore to pieces upon contact.

"That was very powerful," that was all Yamamoto could say in awe. He really had no point of laughing at it at all.

"Well, it's probably not as effective as your friend a while ago," Bookman grinned. "But really, how many can your friend take out? He was a hurricane just a while ago."

Yamamoto increased the flames in his short swords and held his longest in poise for another Akuma attack.

"I really don't know, Mr. Bookman. I really don't."

-*-awefiuoahw

_The Vongola Tenth was running in the direction of aimless destinations, his head wildly turning to see anything else other than this mass of white clouds and pastel blue skies. Holding his hands out in front of him, he swatted uselessly against the clouds, under the precaution he didn't run into anything._

_The fog eventually dissipated, and Tsuna found himself standing in the city of white. Every house had a different feel to them. One had a balcony, and another had two stories. One was actually a coffee shop, and the other was a town hall. The cobblestone path that snaked around the entire city was almost spotless, and the greenery that sat in porcelain white pottery was well-tended to._

_However, there was not a single soul who took residence here, Tsuna noted. The doorknobs were virtually untouched, and the paths and roads were not even close to run down. No children's fingerprints were pressed against the windows that housed unpackaged toys, and no faint hums of the baker from the nearby coffee shop could be heard. Where were the bustling town and the cheerful flocks of people that should be strolling in these steps? Where were the children who marred the streets with chalk and played hopscotch? Where were the elderly who took refuge under the patios of their homes to witness the progressing of time? Where was everyone?_

_Tsuna heard a small shuffle behind him, and he literally jumped at the small interruption of silence. Miffed, he broke into a dash down the streets, disregarding who it could have been. He let his feet fly before him, and carried the rest of his body with him. The rest of his vision was white as he heard his own mouth scream in horror from the footsteps that seemed to follow after him._

_A small bump in the road, and the boy toppled over his own two feet, his face hitting the pavement. Ignoring the searing pain in his forehead, he pushed himself up and watched the approaching figure of a man. Was he the one who has been following him?_

_The stranger was reasonably fast, though, as he was literally sprinting towards Tsuna in just a few seconds. By the time the man was in close proximity, Tsuna could see the silver locks of hair that he knew all too well._

_"Gokudera…?"_

_The silver hair was not easy to miss, and neither were those uniform blazers that his school wore. There was no mistake. This was his Storm Guardian, Gokudera Hayato! His friend was here! He wasn't dead! He was here!_

_However, before Tsuna could take another step, a red hot arrow flew past his cheek. Gokudera was trying to move his lips but no sound came out. He couldn't speak. He was mute. Was the silver haired bomber trying to convey a message to him? But why does he want Tsuna to stay away?_

_"Gokudera!" he shouted, and continued to run forward despite his right hand man's warnings. He had to make one more side step to dodge the next arrow, and when he finally got to his friend, Tsuna grabbed a hold onto the arm that was drawing back an arrow. The Storm Guardian was horrified by Tsuna's nerve to not listen (not like a subordinate could order his boss around), and the husky voice finally broke through the surface._

_"T-Tenth!" He sputted. "Don't come here! It's dangerous!"_

_Before he could say any more, Tsuna flung his arms around his lost friend, and both their eyes were watery from a short reunion. Gokudera gave his boss a reassuring pat on the back as the brunette continued to mutter incoherent things that bordered on "I thought you were dead," and "Thank goodness." He stopped his nonsensical ramblings when Gokudera pulled away from the hug._

_"Gokudera?"_

_Tsuna watched as his friend looked sharply from where he had run, and both of them were taken aback by the premonition of bullets coming their way. Tsuna wanted to come forth and fend them off, but he was tossed over onto the sidewalk again._

_A grunt of pain echoed in the empty city, and a small puddle of blood was forming from the dripping source. Tsuna was horrified by the satisfied expression on Gokudera's face. He was hurt, so why was he smiling! He was pulled back to reality as he heard shouts of "Run!"_

_"I'll be fine!" The silver haired bomber grinned, but Tsuna could tell with his intuition, the young man was lying through his teeth._

_"But-"_

_"Leave him be." A mysterious voice coaxed Tsuna into suddenly relaxing. Another pair of footsteps was trailing him closely from behind. Just as Tsuna turned around, he saw white hair and the pale face of a young boy, a poker face of a smile drawn on his lips. His silver eyes were brilliant, and made the alarming feature of an irregular scar stand out: a star, followed by several lines running down the side of his face. All Tsuna could do was gape at the sudden appearance of this newcomer._

_The strange boy held his arms in welcome to Gokudera, as if he hadn't seen the boy in such a long time. Gokudera was thoroughly miffed as he limped towards the boy, slightly grateful that he came. He muttered a small apology to the stranger before collapsing to the ground, unconscious. Tsuna wanted to crawl over to Gokudera and help him, but the piercing gaze of the strange albino boy made him stop entirely._

_"You'll see him another time, but only once the hourglass is stopped and flipped over again," the boy mused to Tsuna, earning only a small gasp from the Vongola Tenth as he suddenly felt like he was falling down an endless abyss, and the hole to the surface was gradually getting smaller and smaller. Tsuna made a futile attempt to reach back, but numbness washed over his being and he saw and felt nothing._

-*-awoefhaw

"Chrome, take my hand!"

The purple haired girl thrust her hand forward, and Yamamoto caught it quickly. Lambo clung tightly to the girls' shoulders as she was pulled quickly up to the next ledge and followed after by Hibari, Ryohei with an unconscious Tsuna, Reborn, and Mr. Bookman with Fuuta in tow. Yamamoto kept his sword drawn as they ran around the hill onto a dirt-ridden track, occasionally looking back to see if the demons were getting any closer. The evening was making sight very difficult, it seems.

"Ambushed!" Mr. Bookman shouted, and by reflex, he slammed his hammer into the face of the nearest demon he could find. Reborn launched a barrage of shots at another one. There were at least four more, and Hibari went tearing through two of them.

Yamamoto went barreling forward with his sword in tow, but he had set his timing all too late when he looked up to see the barrel of a gun pointed at his face.

"Yamamoto!" Ryohei shouted, but his shouts were cut short when a dark figure ran past them and charged at the demon that was about let another barrage of bullets.

"Get the big one!" Someone shouted from behind. Their voice was not familiar to any of them, but it was eminent whose side they were taking.

The dark figure roared as he landed atop the head of the demon and plunged a sword right through its head. The demon screamed as Yamamoto savior ran the blade down the whole side of the demon's face, and landed before the Rain Guardian, his back shielding the teen from the explosion that followed.

The last was dealt with a large bear pouncing atop the monster, its jaws ripping and tear at the wires and organic material that was once the demon's head, and the Akuma fell down in a crumpled heap of metal. The bear came down from the hill of poisoned metal and approached its owner, a tall buff man with brown claw mark tattoos over his face. A third, still hooded, ran after the two fighters up ahead, a lantern in hand.

Everyone paused in fright at the newcomers, mostly Yamamoto. The stranger was wearing a hood, with silver trimmings, a silver crest emblazoned on his chest. He held out a hand to the Rain Guardian, who could only stare at the newest surprise that came his way today.

"More survivors?" The stranger spoke, a high voice of a teenager. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Ah," Mr. Bookman was relieved. "You made it on time. I thought I was a goner."

"You! Goner?" The young man pulled back his hood, revealing a mass of messy black hair and black beady eyes that could only be seen by the lanterns. However, Yamamoto was still surprised at the young man who pulled down his hood.

"Kensuke Mochida?!" [4]

"Hm?" The boy looked at him questioningly. "Yeah, that's my name. Does it mean anything to you?"

Before Yamamoto could ask anything more, the unfamiliar boy was approached by his friend.

"Lord Mochida!" The one with the lantern approached him. "I sense the approach of several more. We need to head back to the outpost. Lord Nigella and Lord Bookman are with the rest of the party already."

Mochida nodded while the lantern carrier dashed away. He quickly held out a hand to Yamamoto, who gazed questioningly at the offered help.

"What are you waiting for?" the boy asked impatiently. "We've got to run, unless you want to be behind?"

"S-sorry!"

The two Japanese teens were now sprinting down the road, all intent on catching up with everyone else. Even the boy with the lantern was so up ahead already. Yamamoto looked at Mochida, who was running with little sweat, sword strung across his back. Some reason, Yamamoto was sure this was not the Kensuke Mochida he knew. Was this some alternate universe?

"Dive!" Mochida commanded, and Yamamoto did so, and he found himself falling down a long way before hitting water. Caught off guard, he flailed in the deep for a moment before quickly stroking upward to the surface. He joined everyone at a lighted stone platform, who was breathing heavily from the unexpected drop. Even Lambo and Fuuta were completely unconscious from nearly drowning. Tsuna was still not awake, and the swordsman wondered how the boy managed to not wake up from hitting cold water. Much to Yamamoto's surprise, he could hear Ryohei raging at Mr. Bookman for putting the children at risk, but he was tired to listen very well.

"You okay, man?"

The Rain Guardian peered up at the unfamiliar face of Mochida. For once, the young man was not wearing a face of a delinquent, but one of a concerned soldier. All these changes were beginning to make Yamamoto confused.

"Fine." There came his curt reply, and Mochida merely nodded before approaching Mr. Bookman, who was in conversation with the newcomers.

"Lord Bookman [5]," The boy with the lantern spoke. He had pulled his hood down, revealing dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes. "You should have told us sooner."

"Well, no communication," The innkeeper shrugged. "My golem broke on the way back, and I had some people to bring back to the underground city."

"Well, nice to see you, captain," Mochida said wearily, and Bookman returned the salute the teen swordsman gave to him.

"Good to see you kids are in one piece," the redhead smiled. "I was wondering if any of you lost an arm yet, Kensuke."

"I'm not little anymore, old man!" The black haired teen said defensively. "See? I've gotten a few more inches before I beat you!"

"It's only been a year since you've seen us, captain," Nigella replied. "We've gotten better, too, so no injuries for the past few months."

"That's good," Bookman grinned at the three boys. "So, status?"

"We're not too far from Headquarters, actually," Mochida smiled slightly. "We didn't know you'd try to make an outpost out here. Now you've done it all, captain."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Bookman nodded, his green eyes glinting as he looked back at the wreck that used to be his inn. "They were good folks, though."

Something small and fast whizzed right past his nose, and his mouth was left hanging open as he glanced sideways at a disgruntled hitman baby, his green and black gun poised at his head at a good distance.

"Hey," Reborn snapped, considering he was completely soaked and disgruntled. "Don't speak of us as if we're dead."

Mochida raised an eyebrow at the baby's ability to be such a good shot, let alone hold a gun properly, or speak. That was a baby, was it? Well, certainly, he had seen man-eating Akuma on a daily basis, so a gun-wielding baby shouldn't be so surprising.

"Good shot," Nigel whispered under his breath. The man was visibly more scared than everyone else in this cavern.

"Who are you, then?"

"I am the humble Bookman [6]," The man smiled. "Founder of the Neo Black Order. Or, co-founder, if you count everyone else."

-*-aweifuawh

_The Earl had waited on striking the small city long enough, and by the end of his raid, there wasn't a single human being who could step out and call for help. If the town square was completely destroyed beyond recognition, the same could be said for the once prided Cathedral of Liverpool. The windows were all smashed, the bits of stained glass collecting into piles of dust on the pockmarked carpet. The pews were sliced and chopped into kindling, and the altar was cleanly dismantled._

_Lavi hadn't cried so much for a long time. In fact, he hasn't really remembered crying at all for the past few years he's lived as a Bookman's apprentice, before he stepped foot into the Black Order. War was war, and there was no use in crying about it if atrocities happened all the time. But the Black Order was different when it all started because of Lenalee, Allen, and Kanda. He and Bookman were aware of their growing softness for the worst of a war, and it took their toll on them far too many times. Abstinence's rule was broken, and only one of them could stand now._

_"A-Allen…" The redheaded exorcist muttered as he knelt down before the corpse of a dear friend they failed to save, his fists itching to punch the floor in frustration. Why hadn't they come faster? Why hadn't they decided to refuse a stay at that inn and waste one night? It was only a few precious seconds they had wasted, and had they come earlier, their mission would have been accomplished._

_Lavi wasn't the only one crying, either. Tyki, who had accompanied him, was just the same. The loss of a supposed family member caused unintentional tears to spring from the Noah's eyes, as he stood beside the crouching Bookman in silence. They had been like this for an hour or so, ever since they heard the last explosion in the cathedral and the discovery of the remaining limbs of their acquaintance. It didn't take long for them to recognize who the single deceased was, and for some reason, they were expecting failure._

_Soon Tyki finally decided to approach the corpse, earning a questioning gaze from his companion. They had already used up a lot of their time mourning, and now it was time to do something else._

_"I'm burying the body," The Noah said quietly. "You can help once you're done washing your face."_

_"U-um… right…" Lavi nodded, and he watched as the man lift up what was left of a body into his arms. Tyki departed from the cathedral, the bloody limbs and body wrapped and folded under the sheet of torn curtains. A pale Lavi soon returned from the washbasin sitting out in the back of the. The two men then drowned in work, digging the hole, laying the remains, and burying it again. Their task concluded with a cross-shaped marker, entirely unmarked, with no name, date of death, or indication of status. This will be the grave of an unknown warrior who died far too soon._

_Sunset was approaching, and the Exorcist and the Noah watched as the sky began to erode into a roof of red and purple clouds, those that resembled the world of a demon who had resurfaced to the world. Lavi noticed the thin line of Tyki's lips as the Noah gazed at the sky worriedly. He must have realized something._

_"Adam is long gone, now that he is been consumed by madness himself," The dark skinned Noah mused. "It's really only the two of us."_

_He heard no response for a while, and he was nearly sure that the man had decided to cry himself mute until a croaking voice cracked the silence._

_"No. You're wrong."_

_Tyki glanced at the redhead in question, eyebrows raised._

_"There's still others," Lavi reasoned. "We could find them, and we could keep fighting. It's the best we can do."_

_"I doubt there's a single soul out there that's still alive, Bookman Junior," the Noah retorted, pulling the newsboy cap over his eyes. He didn't like being optimistic. It really wasn't his way of living. He always thought of the worst thing that could happen and never the best that could. He never considered chances, and he would never do that._

_"There's still a possibility," Lavi shot back, with a small smile on his face. "I can find them very quickly, but only if I can get to that place."_

_"That place?" Tyki was even more skeptical. Now the Bookman Junior was saying things even he himself couldn't understand._

_"It's hidden," The redheaded Exorcist explained. "Only those who belong to the Bookman Clan know where it is… well, only if they're certified."_

_"That excludes you," The Noah pointed out. "Doesn't it?"_

_"Well," Lavi laughed nervously. "The whole point was that I figure out where the place is myself… but I guess the old panda was in such a hurry to make sure I become the next Bookman now that he's passed on. I know the general location of the place, so we should hurry. If we get there, I might figure out how to counter these Akuma."_

_"Well, aren't you the rash one," The Booman apprentice's companion smiled. "Isn't it against the rules of the Bookman clan to be involved in courses of history?"_

_"Good question," the redhead shrugged. "But look at me now. I doubt there's any more history for me to record, now that nothing more is left. If not, I'm not the first one to break the code, from the looks of this."_

_"Oh, I see," Tyki then pointed out to the plains that were virtually devoid of demons and humans. "Then lead the way, Bookman Junior."_

_The Bookman apprentice couldn't help but agree, "To a new goal that we have set ourselves."_

_"Agreed," His companion nodded. "Let's go, deep into this new world of black and white." [7]_

-*-aweiofahw

**FOOTNOTES:**

[1] Um, no this isn't going to be yaoi, or any intentional pairings. I really don't plan on pairing anyone officially. Even KyokoxTsuna isn't really true. Oh, and purple prose for the win (I fail at avoiding it).

[2] … I'm sorry Tyki is out of character… but what would someone feel if their entire family was wiped out? That wouldn't feel too good, would it? Also, I remembered that Noah cry when a family member dies, even when they don't want to (I really didn't understand it that well).

[3] Roll is the name of Hibari's Box Weapon: Cloud Hedgehog

[4] Mochida! I'm sure everyone remembers that guy!

[5] Basil still speaks in Keigo, but I'm minimalizing the use of Japanese in this story, so technically, Bookman-dono almost literally means Lord Bookman. Another meaning is master, but that doesn't really makes sense for me because Basil is not Lavi's apprentice.

[6] An official Bookman probably disposes of all the names he has from before and merely calls himself Bookman. I only assume it runs this way because Lavi's master was merely addressed as Bookman and nothing else, and they are part of the Bookman clan (I don't believe it's anything like a clan, but still). Anyways, there will be more guesswork regarding how Bookmen work (since a lot of the story will focus on Lavi becoming a fully-fledged Bookman while rebuilding the Order).

[7] This is ironic, because Lavi wasn't supposed to be too involved in the war. Oh, well. Too bad he's breaking every code of Bookman in here.

-*-aweifuawh

**A/N:**_ Hm… Yeah, I sorta offed Allen, too (you are free to kill me if you want to now). Also, I felt like breaking tradition and portraying the people who were jerks to Tsuna as people who are more… nicer. However, I can reassure you that Gokudera and a majority of the -Man cast won't be dead for the entire story, and yes, this story has a happy ending, with some bittersweet endings to it (for example, the villain is very unlikely and out of the blue). Just bear with me, please, despite the much trolling I will do with this story._


	5. One Who Was Not Before

**A Piano's Requiem**

**Ch 05 – One Who Was Not Before**

* * *

"_No."_

_It took time for Lavi and Tyki to blink. The answer came through all too quickly. Glasses glinting, the blue haired man guessed he needed to be more elaborate._

"_I don't want to go back," he continued. "I don't want to go back to that wretched life ever again. Not when I've lost everything because of that. I'm fine down here, where I can take care of these survivors. I have a new life here, and I don't want to go back to the past life."_

_A great pause fell amongst them, until Lavi gave a deep sigh, resigned from having done futile persuasion. The man was satisfied living here, so it was best not to let him return to the nightmare of a thousand-year war. He deserved the tiny ounce of peace he had left, and they should be willing to respect that._

"_Suit yourself."_

_The door to his makeshift home was shut behind as the Noah and Bookman departed into the bleak remnants of Earth. Komui was busy fiddling with his quill, feeling proud of himself that he actually had a choice this time._

_As much as he wouldn't admit it, he didn't become the Chief Officer of the Black Order for nothing. He was considered brilliant by his Science Department, despite the many disasters his experimental medicines and robots caused. He even fooled the Earl once, on that day, but he couldn't help his sister and the rest of his department. All because he was a coward._

_That very moment, Komui Lee was beginning to regret his decision. His heart continued to sink further and further deep into the sea of conflicted thoughts as days passed by, quietly wondering when Lenalee would be at his door, crying tears of joy. He was aware that would never happen, but this was wishful thinking. Then came the day when he finally hit rock-bottom. He was left with nothing once again, in the ruins of what was his third life. Lavi and Tyki had returned, with more allies, and they stood in the fallen cottage, unwavering. They didn't make it in time to save anyone, not even Komui himself._

_The said man was trembling furiously, hands buried in the rubble. No one was under the ruins, and they were all done for._

"_Komui! Komui!"_

_A hand seized his wrists, and the former Chief Officer looked up pleadingly at his former enemy, a sincere Noah. The Noah's golden eyes were piercing, so much that Komui instead took notice of his own hands. They were collecting a massive amount of cuts and scrapes, and if he hadn't been stopped, they would've been unusable._

"_Don't do something so stupid like that," Tyki said, his voice cold and unforgiving. "You're alive, and that means you can do something."_

_Komui wanted to reply, but Lavi asked one thing._

"_Please…"_

_Head bowed, the former Chief Officer hid his hands in the folds of his coat and glanced the small group that Lavi managed to collect over the months. Surprisingly, there were more people than he had originally thought, and surprisingly there were a few familiar faces._

"… _I'll go with you," He said with great bitterness. "I'll follow this plan of yours, and I'll see what you've come up with."_

_A small smile graced Lavi's lips. The redhead stood up and held out a hand to the former Supervisor of the deceased Black Order. Komui hesitated, before taking that hand and getting onto his own feet. He then looked at the small team of people Lavi and Tyki had managed to gather after a year of searching. It wasn't a great team, but they worked along well, and they handled the Akuma quite well. He could do with this, just for the few more years he could never finish counting. At once, Komui Lee was willing to start the phase of his fourth life. [1]_

* * *

The trip down the stairs was endless, especially for those who were carrying unconscious people. Yamamoto had a difficult time concentrating on taking the next step, he couldn't even be aware of whom was walking next to him. At least these were downstairs. It would be hell if they had to climb up.

Yamamoto glanced wearily at Nigella, who was currently carrying Tsuna, who still seemed almost asleep. The Rain Guardian only scarcely remembered who the man was back in the future, although he remembered seeing him for a few moments before Ryohei went up against the snake man. The fact that this man from the future was at the present was questionable… how did he get here anyways?

"Watch your step," a rather dull voice caught him, and he nearly stumbled on the stairs. The sandy haired boy with the lantern was catching up to him. It took a while for Yamamoto to look and realize who this possibly was, since it really has been a while since they've last met: Basil, that one member from CEDEF that appeared during the Ring Battles and was sent to the Future. It really did take a while considering the Basil looked so different here. Generally, the boy was good friends with Tsuna and he was quite the lovable guy when not in the battlefield. Now this Basil was cold and quiet. What happened?

"Where are we going?" Ryohei demanded, hefting a sleeping Fuuta on his back. "This is taking forever!"

"Oh, be patient!" Mochida shouted back. "Sorry it takes so long, but it's because we needed to be all the way underground so the Akuma can't find us!"

"Underground?" Reborn's interest piqued. He was now sitting on Hibari's shoulder, considering for the fact that the prefect was the only walking properly enough.

"Yeah," Mochida looked at the baby. "It was a long time ago, but when the invasion of Akuma began, the founders of the Neo Black Order had to find a way to make their base of operations unknown. The entire planet is a wasteland now, so the founders decided it should be underground."

"There was an invasion of Akuma years ago?" Yamamoto was surprised. Then why haven't they heard of it before?

"Well, yeah," Mochida shrugged. "Don't know the full details, but Captain Bookman knows. Isn't that right, old man?"

The redhead sighed. "Indeed, I am a founder after all. But that is a long story that requires hours of explanation. We'll discuss once we get to the city."

"A city…" Yamamoto pondered on the thought of it. Only in books would there ever be worlds of underground cities where the people never saw the sun, with all sorts of different technology, not that he himself ever really bothered to read. That was usually something that Gokudera did. The bomber would never admit it, but he was a sucker for fantasy books, not only science fiction. When Gokudera was a happier terms, he'd babble about the books he read. Books, stories of other worlds, that was some of the things Gokudera would willingly talk nonstop about, other than appeasing the "Tenth" and being a mafia underboss. Speaking of Gokudera…

"So," Mochida sparked yet another conversation. "How'd you meet the old man anyways?"

"Us?" Yamamoto was closest to the "Exorcist," which the young man called himself. "We were attacked by Akuma and we were running across Japan until we met Mr. Bookman. He took us into his inn, before it was destroyed. What's with that face?"

"Sorry," Mochida shut his gaping mouth closed. "But running across Japan? How is that even possible? You do realize that Japan is the number one most infested areas in the world?"

"Infested?" Yamamoto was surprised. "With demons?"

"Akuma," Mochida corrected him. "You seem surprised that Akuma even exist. Where were you for the past few centuries? Have you been living under a rock?"

"School."

"What, in Fuji City?" [2]

Yamamoto wanted to ask what in the was Fuji City, since he had never heard of the place before, but Ryohei began to shout incoherently that he could see light, which prompted everyone to run faster.

The first thing he hadn't expected to see was a sun shining brilliant above them, with clouds hovering ahead of them. They were at the end of the cave, looking out into a valley of a literal city, with fairly sizable buildings, almost reminiscent of downtown Namimori itself [3]. If Yamamoto's eyes worked better right now, he could closely see a currently busy market beneath him, but he could only see masses of people bustling down there. Towers of metal and glass were centered in the main downtown, whilst small suburbs were scattered throughout. But there were people, a literally city… what type of underground city could ever take this scale?

"Breathtaking, isn't it?" Mochida commented, and Yamamoto looked at the supposed delinquent.

"Y-Yeah…" The swordsman muttered, and he stared back at the city streets below. How many years did it take to make such large and expansive place like this? How the people expand when the population grows? Many questions filled his head as he continued stare, his mouth still slacking.

"This is amazing," Fuuta gasped from beside him. "How come has this never made it into my ranking book?"

"It's almost… impossible," even Reborn, a hardened hitman, was still amazed at how the world could work miracles for him. "Just how is this… possible?"

Mochida snickered at his companions' surprised gaze, and patted Yamamoto, who was closest to him, on the back.

"You're looking very pale, care for some water when we get down?" For once, Mochida was a bit more cheerful, probably because he had returned home. "Let's go!"

Like an excited long-lost friend, Mochida grabbed Yamamoto and raced past Bookman across the bridge that passed over a marvelous river that Yamamoto couldn't believe even exist underground. They arrived to the fanfare of music and colorful banners, the chatter of civilians running about the shops.

The Rain Guardian could easily admit the place was a bit old fashioned, judging from the classic architecture used, like in the Edo period, but nonetheless, it was a happy place to be. Children, some of them wearing yukatas, were running about with bags of groceries for their mothers. Young women in long dresses and shawls noticed Mochida, and gave a small wave. Not surprisingly, the Exorcist waved back, all too happy to see them.

"Those are the girls from Anita's Hotel," Mochida grinned. "They're really nice people there, so travelers from other cities always come to their place."

Yamamoto followed after Mochida, ducking under a caravan that nearly swung something at him. He received a handful of apologies from the caravan, and Mochida continued to take across the city. First, he saw the bakery, which had rather interesting sweets that would make a girl squeal, and then he saw the farmer's market, where greens were sold by the dozen. After almost a half hour of traversing the main street, the Rain Guardian was absolutely amazed. Whatever Gokudera described in books, was actually real, maybe even better.

"And this is where I live, and where I work," Mochida pointed, and Yamamoto was ready to faint from shock and awe.

The most central of the entire city, the tallest building underground, was looming right above his very eyes. The windows were shining from the supposed sun, and Yamamoto was flabbergasted that such a thing like this skyscraper could even be made underground.

"So, what do you think?" Mochida looked expectantly at Yamamoto, who sputtered slightly.

"It's… cool…"

"Come on," The Neo Exorcist yanked him up the stairs to the grand doors. Up close, Yamamoto could see the craftsmanship of laurel, olives, and primroses. He was sure the doors were immensely heavy, but much to his surprise, Mochida, despite his size, managed to push them open with great ease. The Rain Guardian followed his host through the doors, and found himself in a different world.

He couldn't call it a cathedral, nor was it an office building. The wide first floor was decorated with decent amber lights while large stained glass windows with pictures etched into the glass lined the rather distant corridors. They were usually the same size, but they all constituted into one large window that depicted a man with white hair and white robes.

"Whoa…"

"See?" A satisfied grin slipped on Mochida's face, when a hand suddenly slapped on both boys' backs.

"Now, now, Kensuke," Mr. Bookman sighed, now that he had caught up with them. "We can't give them a tour yet. They have important matters to discuss with the Chief Officer."

Yamamoto was surprised that a man like Mr. Bookman could find them so easily when they literally ran across a bustling street. Even more surprisingly, everyone else in the party was right behind him.

"Oh, right now?" The Exorcist was almost crestfallen. "Well… how long will it take?"

"Not too long," The innkeeper now Exorcist Captain waved away. "But, you're going to be escorting them after we drop off Tsunayoshi at the infirmary."

"The infirmary?" Ryohei glanced at the Exorcists. "Are you guys extreme soldiers?"

"Um, yes, in a sense," Mr. Bookman replied before spinning on his heel. "But that will be answered when we go to meet the Chief!"

* * *

"_Here we are," Lavi murmured under his breath. This small underground stronghold was stuff of legends for many apprentices of Bookmen, and even some fully fledged Bookmen. Only the elderly who passed the Trials were allowed location of this place. Luckily, he happened to study under one of those privileged people, who sometimes mused about that place._

"I was just a few years older than you," _The old Bookman would say in the native dialect of the clan._ "I was only allowed there once. But, mind you, I never managed to complete it. I only made it there, saw it, and left. It was an honor to see it, but I felt it wasn't my job to take on whatever was there."

_To be able to reach this one place considered sacred to Bookmen was a high accomplishment for many Bookmen, Lavi recalled from his master. Usually, they were to be trekking the world with the duty of recording history, whilst searching for the clues that the ancient of Bookmen left for the younger ones to look for the stronghold the first Bookman resided in. This would take many years, and some Bookmen perished before they could even find what was in the sacred home._

_However, as much as a good challenge it was to Lavi, he ended up with the shortcut version of the trip. But it was a good consideration. He and Bookman were the only people to ever stand alongside the Noah and the Exorcists in this long battle of demons. It was their division of expertise, perhaps placing them as the most capable of Bookmen. Wherever the other Bookmen were, it was certain that they didn't learn the skills that Lavi learned as an Exorcist, and surely, they probably wouldn't have survived the sudden public outbreak of demons. Lavi was almost confident of it._

"_So, Junior, how about we begin opening this door," Tyki called out, stepping cautiously on the steps. Somehow, the man managed to get his hands on better clothing, and was raised his more gentlemanly look once again. He set his cane down to the next step, wary of traps. Lavi pulled at his cloak, turning on his heel to proceed._

_The first thing they found earlier was an untouched mountain that still had greenery standing on it. According to Bookman's notes, Lavi was sure that inside the mountain was the stronghold. The first leg of the trip in the mountain was not so impressive, with a few skeletons lying about, and an overgrowth of dangerous stalagmites. It became easier when they found a decently built bridge that stretched overhead a deep, wide trench, they were sure it could be an abyss._

_Now they arrived in a massive chamber of bookshelves, all of them filled with papers and bindings. To say it was amazing was merely an understatement. For something so old and so ancient, the place was sophisticated, with something as simple as a chandelier, all welded of metals that Tyki couldn't identify. Whatever this place is, it was clearly some bookworm's paradise._

_Right on the opposite end of the library was a giant pair of golden doors, covered in an intricate array of locks and puzzles, and words, all in a language the golden-eyed Noah could never understand. He glanced over to Lavi, who had immediately taken a liking to the first book on the wall._

"_I'm starting on finding a way to open that door," The apprentice spoke, answering the Noah's question in an instant. "It'll take a while, since I didn't take that big journey thing I was supposed to do."_

"_Well, you sure have a lot of homework today, Junior," Tyki sighed, thumbing through the books. "Though, you never really told me what's beyond that door."_

"_The final path to become a true Bookman, not just one of practice," Lavi spoke quietly. "Is to gain the power that almost compares you to a real god – Life."_

* * *

"Your friend will be fine in no time," Mochida said as they exited the floor into a hallway. "The Matron may be scary, but she always makes sure everyone leaves the hospital happy and walking.

"That's reassuring," Fuuta smiled. "I'm glad Big Brother Tsuna has people looking after him all the time now."

"Sure thing, kid," Mochida patted the boy's head. "But, your friend seemed kinda weird."

"Well, he's had a hard time lately," Yamamoto tried to beat around the bush, but Mochida frowned.

"I see," He said gravely. "But it's not all common for people to lose their minds at the first sight of Akuma. A lot of the citizens in our underground cities have never seen a demon in their life. We've established such advanced security that no Akuma has ever came in."

Reborn gave the most skeptical look as he perched on Yamamoto's shoulder. "Never seen one? Has it been going for a long time? This war?"

"Yeah," The Neo Exorcist's face transformed to a grimace. "They've only completed mobilizing the scattered remnants of the population just a few years ago, and that took a long time, too. I know that in person… But, since you guys seemed to be on the surface for a while, you must have seen some pretty bad stuff."

"Y-Yeah…" Ryohei nodded. "It was extremely freaky, those creeps."

"They hurt Tsuna by impersonating Kyoko and everyone else…" Yamamoto muttered, and Mochida seemed to jump at that name.

"Kyoko? You mean Kyoko Sasagawa?" Mochida was surprised, earning confused glances from the Vongola Guardians.

"Yeah," Ryohei frowned, who seemed most hurt. "But how did you know her name?"

"Um… I… used to know her…" Mochida said hesitantly, heat rising to his face, but then looked forward to the hallway. "Um, I believe we turn around here."

The exorcist swerved on the corner and headed down a new corridor with the Vongola following suit. Yamamoto was quite sorry for the poor man, since Ryohei was now boring holes through Mochida's back with his eyes for something trivial but achingly surprising to know.

"We can trust him, you know," Fuuta said quietly, as if he could read their minds quite easily. The two Guardians stared down at the little boy who had pulled a small booklet. He was unable to bring his massive book of rankings when he finally settled down at Tsuna's house, so he had resorted to a small notebook so he could help Nana with her shopping and other petty things.

"Mochida is on number twenty six of the most trustworthy people," the boy rattled off like a textbook. "He is number fifteen of the strongest people here, and he is number five of the kindest people in the Neo-Black Order."

Yamamoto and Ryohei exchanged skeptical looks. Kind? Trustworthy? Strong? Since when was Mochida in any of those categories? The last time they encountered him was the time he attempted to bully Tsuna (in front of Gokudera, no less!), and he was sent to the nurse's office with only several bruises, thanks to both Tsuna and Yamamoto's efforts to restrain their enraged Storm Guardian. But that was the last they heard of him since the young man didn't ever try to bother Tsuna after that. So, since when had the famed bully and heartbreaker become one of the most reliable people in this wretched world?

Hibari had overheard the little boy and his legendary "rankings." It was a strange world indeed, finding that the troublemakers have changed for the better, but it was seemingly more comforting that there was less trouble to deal with and discipline. One can no longer judge by how a person looks anymore. Considering that he realized instantly that this world was not the same as the one he originally came from, something was bound to be a bit off.

"Ah, here, I think…" Mochida stared up at the large pair of doors, almost as grand as the front doors themselves. He pressed his hands against the doors, and by just a touched, they moved on their own. The doors slid open, and the group quickly filed through, with Hibari trailing behind last with the door shutting a few centimeters away. They were met with a large staircase that led up to the slightly raised floor, where a low conversation was being held.

"I've seen them for myself, Chief," they instantly recognized the voice of Mr. Bookman, that kind innkeeper who was not really an innkeeper.

"Well, they're coming this way, are they?" A low, rather sultry voice of a man graced the room, as if in doubt of the redheaded man. Mochida gave a small chuckle, realizing the start of a small argument when he raced up the stairs and jumped up, signifying his arrival.

"Captain Bookman!" He shouted, voice booming. "Brought the new guys in!"

"Ah, just on time, Kensuke," Mr. Bookman answered back. "Now…"

Yamamoto looked back at everyone else. Everyone else seemed to shift nervously in their feet, afraid of just going up to meet more people. He couldn't but feel the same, especially from that unfamiliar feeling of his knees shaking. The swordsman glanced up at the stairs, but a small jab in the cheek from a baby hitman set him on alert.

"Tsuna and Gokudera aren't here to lead anyone," The hitman said. "You have to take the initiative."

"R-right."

In an instant, the façade of a trained swordsman sinked in, and he was climbing the stairs, trying to look less trepid as possible. Ryohei, Chrome, Fuuta, and Hibari followed soon after, reaching the same reflective floor that hosted the new.

The first person Yamamoto saw was Mr. Bookman, though with a big contrast in clothing. He seemed to have cleaned up during the time they spent in the infirmary. He had dropped the massive amounts of coats and scarves and was wearing a rather elaborate uniform fit of a soldier. He had slipped on a headband to keep the stray red hair out of his face, and his smile was as wide as the usual one he wore as the jolly innkeeper.

The next man was rather unique, if Yamamoto could describe him. He had rather gray skin, one he would never imagine would exist in the spectrum of human skin tones, and was dressed like an 19th century gentleman displaced from the comforting streets of London. Why he was standing in Japan like this was such a mystery.

"Ah," the mystery gentleman was amused by the entrance. "How interesting these recruits are."

"See?" Mr. Bookman grinned. "I've beat you at your own game, Tyki."

"Oh, we'll see about that," Tyki smirked back. "I'll show you that I'll get more recruits from you-"

The man stopped, and then laid back on the seat he was resting in, his attention turning to the last one in the room. Yamamoto and the others followed Tyki's gaze and their eyes set upon the last person they ever wanted to see.

A man, clad fully in white, was sitting behind a desk, neatly stacked of paperwork. His glaring white hair made him stand out like a sore thumb in this rather dark office, if it weren't for the sun setting behind them. His violet eyes glanced at them, half with warmth, and half with some wariness.

"Welcome to the Neo Black Order Headquarters," the expected cheery voice made everyone jump. "I'm the Chief Officer of the Neo Black Order. You may address me as Byakuran."

"B-Byakuran…" Fuuta muttered. He had gotten snips of his friends' adventures in the future, of the evil man called so, but never did he ever wish to see the villain in person.

"You!" A voice boomed in the room, and Byakuran was watching a fist come at him, only for it to stop a few centimeters from his face. Ryohei was struggling to land a hit on the bastard, with Mr. Bookman holding the teenage boxer back from harming the Chief.

"You, Bastard!" Ryohei resorted to words. "You did all this, didn't you? You screwed up the world again so you could power and get that Trinisette! You took away my sister and killed off my friends, and you're happy to see me? I'll show you what I want to say to you!"

"Whoa, Ryohei," Mr. Bookman tried to coax the boy into stopping. "He's not going to hurt you…"

"Still," Yamamoto defied them, his hands already reaching for his sword. "You're still an enemy of the Vongola, whether you're a different universe or not. You're not welcome to us."

"I can't help but agree," Reborn said, and he responded with a click of gun, and fired. However, the moment it fired, there was Mochida with a sword of his own, and the remnants of a bullet rolled apart on the floor, cleanly split into two.

"What's going on?" The Neo Exorcist frowned at them. "You don't just shoot at the Chief like that."

"But he's an enemy to us!" Ryohei shouted, struggling against the surprising strength of Mr. Bookman. "You house an enemy under your friggin' roof!"

"Well, he's not that bad," Tyki joined in, standing from his seat. "I trust him. So please don't fight so I won't have to jump in."

"We have no choice," Yamamoto took out his sword fully, ignoring reason. Hibari, sensing the waves of an incoming fight, drew out his tonfas, ready to fight as well. Everyone was tense, ready to begin fighting, while a worried Byakuran was overlooking. That is, until the telltale sounds of the grand doors of the office opened and closed.

"Stop."

The atmosphere suddenly ran cold as a new presence loomed over them. They looked up, and saw an upper balcony that came from a higher floor. And there stood a young girl, also dressed in white. Her blue piercing eyes scanned calculatingly at the people below, as if scorning them for disturbing the peace.

The Vongola were frozen in deep surprise. They hadn't expected her of all people to be here.

"Please refrain from fighting," A cool voice drawled out from the girl's lips. Reborn could only gape at the large amount of surprises that have already passed through his eyes today. This was no exception.

"Uni…"

* * *

_The first thing Komui could feel was nervousness. He was getting old, if he were to joke about it, and he has done rallying speeches a lot, back when he was only fifteen, and he was thirty when he moved into the third life. Now this was the official beginning of his fourth._

"_Any time now, Chief," A voice called to him, and he glances up at the men and women who willingly followed Lavi and Tyki to form this new organization. Some of them he recognized as old companions, but some of them were new, but accepting of the dangers that would lay ahead in their new plans to continue the progression of humanity, and fix the torn time that a stray god had caused. He was ready to take this challenge, and help in the effort to fix everything. This was all for Lenalee, for Reever, for the Science Division members who didn't make it. He would gladly waste the last of his life to fix everything, and gain back that peace he wanted to have with his friends and sister, alive._

_A man with long blue hair nods to him approval, his sword drawn to show his loyalty to continue the war effort. Another one, albeit much shorter, bows deeply, his large round glasses slipping over the bridge of his nose. Komui could only smile as he watched the two of them rose back again, awaiting further instructions._

_Lavi and Tyki stood there, both satisfied with what they've managed to achieve in two years. They rounded up enough people who believed in them, and now they had an army, ready to fight and support the fighters. An entire new nation was formed from the ashes of the world. Komui gave a small nod, approving of their intentions._

_The Chief Officer cleared his throat, and he walked out to a balcony where a large crowd of people awaited him outside in the city. Instant cheering and shouting ensued as his face came to full view overhead, and chants of support of the Neo Black Order was already beginning. When the crowd died down, he opened his mouth to speak._

"_Everyone!" He began loudly, and everyone cheered._

"_A new fight awaits us all!" Komui shouted at the top of his lungs. "We must continue to fight!"_

"_For the Neo Black Order!" the mass of Exorcists and Scientists alike were roaring._

* * *

**FOOTNOTES:**

[1] See? Now that wasn't so bad! I did save a few people (sadly not the main characters), but I'm not that cruel of a person. Now if these minor characters survived, what can be said about the main characters? They'll be back!

[2] Fuji City is made up and doesn't exist. In concurrence to underground cities, it will be assumed that there is another underground city nearby Mt. Fuji.

[3] Don't know what downtown Namimori looks like, sadly.

* * *

**A/N:** Hurray! More establishing things! And Byakuran gets a wheelchair! And sorry for being off schedule all the time. Constantly browsing Tumblr (I made my own, but it's just a development/art blog). I do ponder on actually illustrating the underground city described here… It could be modeled after the Arc or something… And some main plot points have been hinted to here, so if you are very sleuth-driven, try to connect the dots.


	6. Not By Oneself

**A Piano's Requiem**

**Ch 06 – Not By Oneself**

* * *

_For a Noah who's been left by himself all this time, Tyki was impatient. Lavi had already spent a month there in this vast library of ancient books, and without a single word uttered, the Bookman Junior was nothing more than a machine, waking up each morning and losing himself in this sea of information. Did the apprentice absorb anything in those books? That was something Tyki wanted to know._

_Then came the day when Lavi finally spoke again. It was hoarse from not using it for a month, but he made his point clear._

"_I can open the gate now."_

_But Lavi didn't say anything else that day, much to the Noah's dismay, and they both went to rest for the next day. Tyki woke up to the silence of no one else sleeping nearby in this cold library, save for a faint glow and rumble. He had sprung to his feet, and arrived just in time to see the last of Lavi's red scarf flutter past the golden gates, and the locks redid themselves back together, concealing the Bookman Junior away._

_Tyki was left to his own devices as he stayed in the sea of books and parchment, his head dulled by the strange information he could never read. He understood that the Bookman clan had their own separate language, but he would never be able to read it. He didn't need to eat very much. A Noah doesn't need much nourishment, and he wouldn't die from starvation._

_The Noah had taken to trying to read the books, and try to find things that he could actually read. He found one, actually, and it entertained him for at least two days and he chuckled at the theories and little contraptions that were blueprinted in the leaves. He shelved the book once it was finished, but he never found another single book that could ease his interim._

_After a while, Tyki returned to his place where he had sat watching Lavi, and he stared at anything that moved, that is, the sun that came in during the day, and the moon that came back. In this region of the Earth, the plague of demons had no reached this mountain so high up, and the cloud of red was actually beneath Tyki. That was one of the few things that he liked about this place. He could count the days, hours, minutes, and seconds just by looking at the ray of light in this library._

"_How quiet."_

_The voice echoes in the vast cave, even though he said it rather quietly. He listened for the voice to disappear within an hour and the cave fell into a state of no more sound once again._

_Tyki rather liked this silence. As a matter of fact, nothing seemed to bother him. No one was here to come running to him with high heels and ask him loudly to help with homework. There was no buzz in the back of his head vabout how the Noah of Desire liked to nap when he wasn't busy. There was no purr and small remarks that the man looked rather cute when he was napping. There was nothing. Just silence._

_But then he thought further. What if Lavi didn't come back, and found solace in some other place, and didn't care to bring Tyki along himself? He must be having a fun time of himself, discovering paradise while the last of the Noah was left here to rot to nonexistence. And even more, no one would be watching this Noah perish, and Tyki would be alone._

_The sheer thought of that possibility made Tyki bring his knees closer to his chin, and he hugged his legs together like a scared child. He understood it now, whenever his pals at the train station talked about it. This was why they didn't want to leave anyone behind. Being alone is worse than being dead, they had said. Now Tyki knew. He didn't want to be alone. If this was how it felt, he most definitely didn't want to be alone._

_Tyki stood up, and faced the doors that Lavi had gone through. That Bookman Junior had better come out, because this was driving him mad. He ran to it, and began to punch at the metal, which was surprisingly hard to touch. He even tried to go through it, but all he could see was an endless layer of metal that he could never finish walking through. All this, and he resorted to punching it again._

"_Damnit," He bit his lip at how nothing happened for the past couple minutes. He didn't want to be by himself, especially not in this one place where no one was going to find him. Or maybe the demons would find this place and destroy it, too, him and the books, and perhaps the door. But he shouldn't say it out loud._

_Tyki continued to attempt his way through the doors, without much progress for the next few hours. He continued to shout and hit the doors and almost beg for Lavi to come back and not leave him. At this rate, he was really looking like a fool who has become desperate. The realization was most embarrassing, but who was there to see him acting stupid for the sake of a lowly man who loved books and recorded time? Ridiculous, he thought, how ridiculous._

_Then a small click._

_Tyki had frozen long enough just to hear that foreign sound. And he heard a small distant groaning of metal from the other side of the door. It was very far away, but progress has begun. The Noah backed away from the door, waiting for the next loud commotion to stir. Surely enough, the door began to unlock itself, and Tyki couldn't bear to watch the many locks, chains, and gears turn and mesh to reveal an opening to a dark passage. Funny, Tyki had sworn that Lavi had walked into bright lights and disappeared. Of course, he only got a glimpse of what lay beyond the door, so that didn't count._

_Tyki had a the great urge to run into the passage and look for Lavi, but he feared that there were traps or barriers that could stop him. He could easily walk through them, unless there was something that he couldn't penetrate. His suspicions were relieved when he heard footsteps, very heavy footsteps. The Noah was amazed at how long and dragging could a pair of feet make, and he waited._

_Finally, a leather boot came into light, along with the rest of the owner's body. The person coming out of that passage was shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun that illuminated the library, and he limped out into the open. Tyki made the first move to catch the apprentice Bookman before he fell splat on the ground. He turned Lavi over and stared at the boy's face for a few moments, just to check that it really was Lavi._

_Thankfully, Tyki could never miss the mop of red hair, and those green eyes were indeed that of the Bookman Junior, but for some reason they looked more distant and old. Whatever Lavi did in that chamber beyond the gate, he must have learned something that might have made him more experienced at something._

_It would be unfitting of Tyki to cry and hug the younger man with shouts of "Oh, God, you're still alive! You left me alone!" mostly because he was a Noah, and Lavi looked more eager to speak than the Noah himself._

"_I've found it…" the redhead muttered feebly, "The power of Life, and I took the pledge."_

_Tyki stared at the Bookman Junior, bewildered by whatever foreign terms he was referring to._

"_Pledge?"_

"_I'll tell you tomorrow," Lavi smiled, before fading to sleep. "I'll tell you everything I saw."_

_The Bookman Junior rested easily in Tyki's lap, much to the Noah's dismay. He was no woman, he'd have Lavi know, but just this once, because of the emotional turmoil they had both went through. Tyki looked up at the brass pair of doors that had seemed to close while he was tending to Lavi speaking gibberish and falling asleep. And the Noah didn't once hear those loud creaking noises of chains and locks again._

_Tyki was tempted to just lay the Bookman down on the floor and carry him to a more suitable place, but he feared waking the Bookman, and he'd never know what had happened behind those gates. So, he could stay here for the time being. Lavi didn't seem to mind the sun shining directly on his face at all. He must be that tired, huh._

_As much as the Noah was not in a good position, he learned something. He wasn't alone, nor did he want to be alone._

* * *

"Uni…"

"Ch-Chief Uni!" Mochida was just as flustered. He quickly drew back his sword into its rightful sheath and backed away from the Vongola. Ryohei, Yamamoto, and the rest of Vongola were completely frozen in place, bewildered by the familiar appearance of an old ally.

The young girl proceeded to canter down the stairs to the same floor as everyone else, her black cape whistling behind her. Her footsteps were hollow against the marble, and she walked towards them, face still sullen, and eyes so dull.

"Byakuran is merely my assistant," Uni stated loudly. "I am the Chief Officer of the Neo Black Order."

"Oh, so cruel, Uni…" The said white haired man teased from behind the Vongola. "We share the same title, you know."

"For someone who merely sits at his desk and does nothing directly to his subordinates," The little girl shot back bitterly. "I'd advise you not to correct me."

"Oh, Uni…" Byakuran whined. "Don't you remember my own predicament…?"

The girl remained unresponsive to Byakuran's minor complaints and walked past the crowd of newcomers to reach the desk that the members of the Black Order were gathered. She noted the stunned pale faces of these people, as if they had seen her before and she was a ghost to them. Most particularly, the baby with sideburns was the most pale.

"Uni…" Reborn muttered under his breath, and the girl's darkened eyes flashed at him, in the same cold way that she had looked everyone else. There was no recognition in those eyes, nor was there any rejoicing at the appearance of her uncle. She then looked at the three other members of the newcomers who weren't fighting.

"You must be the Vongola," She addressed Chrome, who kept a hand over Lambo, afraid that Uni would just walk over and do something to the boy, judging from the glare she was giving the sleeping toddler.

"Y-yes…"

A sword swept in between Uni and Chrome. Yamamoto stood, his face frowning in threat. He wasn't ready to just lay down his weapon and have a nice conversation that would involve backstabbing.

"How did you know about us?" He demanded. The Black Order members exchanged glances and merely shrugged.

"It was simple," Uni answered in a clipped manner. "We merely predicted your arrival when things became strange."

"All courtesy of me," Byakuran waved for their attention from behind the desk. "I still have the same ability of your counterpart. Uni had foresaw that something big was coming, and I, with my knowledge of the alternate universes, assumed it would you, the displaced traveling party. Please, don't start fighting. I'm not going to hurt you. No one in the Order will hurt you."

The Vongola didn't seem fazed by the welcome gesture. Since Byakuran was always nice, even when he was spouting havoc and death of millions, they were far cry from even trying to lay down weapons and joining in on this tea party.

"I don't trust you," Ryohei gave way, his feet bouncing in a spar. "You're still Byakuran."

"Sasagawa Ryohei, I assure you," Byakuran smiled at the boxer. "I am not the Byakuran you know. I don't desire for things like the Trinisette or whatever power you hold."

The white haired man didn't make any motion to get up and walk out of his desk, but rather, he shifted to the side and went round the desk. He had been sitting in a wheelchair, his hands resting on controls to move the vehicle. The cloth at his pants from knee down was hanging quite more loosely than anywhere else on his legs, despite the presence of his shoes at the footrests on the wheelchair. Needless to say, the entire Vongola was most surprised that they Byakuran they were looking at was condemned to a handicap.

"I am merely a Byakuran who exists in another universe," The Officer said. "I was born in this universe, and nowhere else. And yet, of course, I retain the same abilities as the Byakuran you encountered in your own world, Vongola Guardians. That is only relation I have to him."

"Well, then," Reborn retorted. "I'd like to know why we're here. Explain."

"Now, now," The officer chuckled. "Always in a rush, now? Please don't be too hasty. You're going to stay here a little while anyways."

"No more games!" Ryohei shot back hotly. "Tell us now!"

At this, Uni quickly shot daggers at the boxer, and Ryohei stopped bouncing in place, and his arms fell to his sides. Yamamoto and Reborn were entirely shocked at the action. Just one small death glare directed at the boxer, and he stopped being violent?

"Let me tell this to you straight," Uni scathed. "You have landed here under quite the unexpected circumstances, because something shouldn't have happened."

"What shouldn't have happened?"

Hibari was the one to speak for once. This disturbed him greatly, something that was beyond his control. The prefect certainly didn't like things being out of his reach.

Uni was frozen in place, her lips pursed. A tell, the Vongola thought to themselves. Seemed like she didn't know the true cause. Were they still finding more about it, or do they truly have no idea why this had happened?

"I believe we've gone over this issue not too long ago," Byakuran swept through, saving the conversation. "I'll take over, shall I, Uni?"

The girl gave a small nod, and allowed her co-worker to wheel ahead.

"This, my dear Vongola," The man added. "Is an alternate universe, very much like the ones that the Byakuran of your world has been said to see. This universe has existed as it should have been for the past while."

"A few centuries ago, a war had occurred, but it remained unwritten in conventional history, because it was a history no other common man should know of. Demons that you see today that roam the upper realms of the earth, the Akuma, were far more secretive back then, and they hid within the human population as the people continued to live on the surface. The Akuma were created the same purpose and only one: to eradicate all of humanity.

"In order to counter these demons, a long-running organization was formed, and thus we introduce the Black Order. It was mostly a branch of the church and the superiors were in direct connection to the pope, and indeed, their rules were entirely for religious means. The Black Order had many occupations, mainly Exorcists. These Exorcists would be soldiers of the Black Order, and they would set out into the world and eliminate Akuma before they rampaged."

Byakuran turned to the Vongola with a knowing smile on his face.

"Now, I'm sure Captain Bookman gave you the drop of Innocence and explained to you what it was for?"

Reborn was the first to give a nod. After all, the innkeeper was kind enough to tell him first. The others gave steady nods as well. Byakuran seemed pleased that he didn't have to go through those explanations.

"Good," The white haired man was understanding. "I hope the substance has been of great use to you. I shall continue."

"These Exorcists were required to wield Innocence, since that was the only thing that could kill Akuma at all. Remember, a simple bullet will not make Akuma perish. Because of the great potential Exorcists had with Innocence, they served under the Black Order for centuries and participated most actively in the war against the demons.

"The Black Order had existed for a long time, ever since the formation of Akuma and their systematic killing. This war raged on for many centuries earlier, and it was a nonstop battle, because there weren't enough Exorcists to fully kill all the Akuma and the Akuma multiplied like flies.

"However, two centuries from our time, a little ray of hope came to the Order, and that was the fabled Destroyer of Time. Naturally, a part demon himself, he fought alongside the Black Order as an Exorcist, and brought great attention to the superiors when he and his fellow Exorcists began to literally grind down on the demons, so much that the people of the Order thought they were going to win."

"And it did seem like we were going to win," Bookman added. "We were almost confident that with this progress that we'd succeed to end the war once and for all."

"Yes," Byakuran nodded and continued. "And according to most tales, that was how the story should have gone. The hero arrives in shining armor and wins the battle in one fell swoop, and world is at peace again. Might I explain this in more of my own terms, you would be confused. Because of the success of the Black Order and their efforts, a parallel universe was created where peace was achieved, and the world trudged on in their own happenings. That universe, the peaceful one with the sound end of the war between demons and the church, is yours, Vongola."

"Our world?" Yamamoto muttered.

"Indeed," Uni stepped up. "Perhaps in your universe, there are no such things as humans, and the world is rather in itself at peace, save for your own personal mafia wars. The Vongola Family, without the interference of Akuma, was able to prosper through ten generations so far and become the grand family it is in your own universe. Quite the feat, don't you agree?"

"Yes, quite the amazing thing people can do," Byakuran continued. "However, here is the most startling. In this alternate universe, you Vongola would have never existed."

"What?" Ryohei became enraged once again. "What do you mean?"

"It means you died," Reborn said flatly. "Or you were never born."

"Correct, Arcobaleno," Byakuran grinned, and he proceeded to glance out the window to the city below. "In this universe, is far opposite from your own. Here, the Black Order had lost the war, and three quarters of the human population was annihilated. That is only a very kind estimate, not counting the other factors. The Surface fell to the Akuma, and the survivors went underground, thus, the formation of the Neo Black Order and the underground cities you have seen on your way here. Because of the destruction, the Vongola and other mafia families would have never risen to their greatness, and they died out the immediate rise of Akuma began."

Yamamoto's was sheet white at the thought of his own death in this world, and he looked back to the others. Chrome was shaking, and held on tightly to Lambo, with Fuuta hiding behind her legs. Ryohei had stopped being aggressive and was staring blankly at the Neo Exorcists, Reborn didn't seem too well with the news, and Hibari, the man didn't look any better than Ryohei.

"Your presence in this alternate timeline, is astounding," Uni replied. "In this universe, all of you would not exist. However, here you are, flesh and blood."

"But why are we in a universe like this?" Reborn demanded. It hurt to think he was acting too harshly to Uni, of all people, but if the girl wasn't the one he knew, then it should be fine to act more menacing for answers.

"Thus, the error," Byakuran answered. "If no one made any changes to the different universes, then you Vongola would not be present here."

"Changes?" Yamamoto never understood science fiction concepts, and this was rather mind-boggling to him. [1]

"Yes, changes," Mr. Bookman came into the conversation. "Usually, these parallel worlds should remain unattached, meaning we do our own thing, and you keep your business to yourselves. However, if there were changes to the times before us, and deliberate ones at that, things will get messed up. Your internal powers, or what you called Flames, seem to be disruptive to these changes. Normally, deliberate changes to the past should destroy you and your parallel world, but the Flames you possess seem to preserve most of you into this altered present. Kinda confusing, but you'll understand if you stick with us long enough."

"It was confusing," Reborn was never more honest. "We'll stay, because Tsuna is still in need of medical attention. He is the boss, after all. He'll judge you for himself when he awakes, and our stay will be determined there."

"I see," Byakuran smiled. "Well, then I'll just allow you to make yourselves at home. Mochida, Tyki, and Uni will be happy to help you around. Please, you may leave."

"Thank you," Yamamoto bowed politely.

"Ah, but please, the baby, and the swordsman," Byakuran stopped them. "I urge you to stay awhile. I hope to hear more of your story here. Hopefully, we can figure out how things should go."

Hibari and Ryohei left willingly, but Chrome and the two children lingered behind. Chrome was trying to leave, with Lambo still asleep, but Fuuta was pressed not to leave his big brother behind. Now, the purple haired girl was no babysitter, nor was she very assertive. The best she could do was tug gently at the boy's sweater and then kneel down to talk to him.

"Fuuta," She said softly. At first, Chrome never learned who Fuuta was until now when she had to take care of him. Usually, he was very obedient to the young woman, and clung to Chrome like a child to his mother.

"But," Fuuta whimpered. "What about Yamamoto-"

A tall figure stepped across to them. Hibari had left with Uni, Ryohei with Mochida, so it was Tyki, the quiet, dark skinned man dressed in a suit. He seemed pleasant enough to be welcome to children, and the gentleman he was, he offered a hand for Chrome to get up to her feet without any embarrassment.

He gave Fuuta a small tap on the shoulder and a reassuring grin, just like any uncle would to a cute little nephew he could dote on.

"Don't worry, kid," He grinned. "We're going to get you back as soon as possible. Your 'big brother' is going to be back with you very soon."

Fuuta stood still, staring at Tyki. He had never seen the man this close up, and the first thing he felt was fear. Golden eyes that were old and ready to kill if needed to, that was the most frightening. And the fact that this man's skin was eerily gray. Throughout Fuuta's life, he could never imagine someone with such a skin color.

"Let's go, little one," the man, hoisting Fuuta up like a toddler, and carrying him away. The little boy wanted to struggle and pound his fists against this foreign man's chest. He wanted to help Chrome, too, since she was also being ushered away.

Then all that fear dissipated. He looked up at Tyki, who's face was just as sincere as those few seconds that passed a while ago, and his rather large hand patted Fuuta's back in comfort.

"Your friends will be fine under our care," He said soothingly. "Now, let's take you to a suitable place to stay while you're here."

Fuuta let his arms slack and allowed the strange man to carry him away, with Chrome and Lambo in tow, while Yamamoto and Reborn remained in the office with Byakuran and Mr. Bookman.

"Now," Byakuran wheeled himself back to his desk. "I'd like to know how you and your party arrived into this universe. My assistants in the Science Division would most like to know about this."

* * *

Mochida turned around just a little bit to look back at Ryohei's face again. It only took half a second for him to quickly whip his head back to the front. Man, that guy's face was scary! Does he know anything about being a little bit more courteous? [2]

He had always been given weird looks whenever he went anywhere. Considering that he was a native of a different underground city, his attitude and mannerisms could shock the high and mighty citizens of the North underground Japan. Those looks would be "oh look a foreigner loser" type of look. As a Neo Exorcist, anyone could be surprised that a boy of fifteen could be in almost the position of a king. This look would be "it's an Exorcist come get his autograph." But this boxer dude? This was more of the death glare "why the hell are you here" type of look. The only death glare he ever got was from that other temperamental captain of a swordsman, so this was a very rare occurrence. Now in response to the fact that daggers were being stabbed into the back of his head…

"Okay," Mochida stopped and turned around to the frowning white haired boy. "Why are you glaring at me like that? I just saved you life, and maybe there was a misunderstanding back there with the Chief, but seriously? What did I ever do to you?"

"I don't trust you."

The first thing Mochida could do was slouch in exasperation. So this Ryohei dude was one of those blunt people who don't like to give long monologues about why he hates people. Great. Just really. Great.

"Well, we only met for twenty-four hours," The Neo Exorcist shrugged. "But I don't think that a day would be enough to make someone hate people that much. Unless I had done something to you when I was little kid, then that'd be a different story."

"You hurt my sister."

The answer was straight and blunt again.

"What sister?" Mochida raised an eyebrow. "I really don't know anything about your sister. I'm sorry, but if I did anything in that other universe and hurt your sister, then I'm not that person right here. Can't you get it through you head?"

"You still did hurt my sister. And Sawada."

"Oh, did I?" The black haired boy frowned. "I must have been a weird person over in your 'parallel world.'"

Mochida was sure Ryohei had begun muttering under his breath, and he sure wasn't going to miss out on anything that would involve insulting him. Mochida himself was a proud young man, too. But at least he could consider what others felt too.

"Dude," He tried to confront the white haired man. "You could always sit down and tell me what the me in that other world did. I'm all ears, you know?"

The boxer didn't seem to stop muttering under his breath, and all Mochida could really hear was "Tsuna" and "Kyoko" and some garble of hateful words, probably directed at him. As a man who never went to other worlds, like these people, he could never really understand how bad the experience was. As an Exorcist, he himself had his own storybook of horrors to tell. Perhaps Ryohei was the same. After all, everyone should have some secret around here, right?

He proceeded to nearly deliver a heart attack to the boxer with hard slam on the back. Startled, Ryohei whipped around and threw glares right back him. Scary much?

"You know what?" Mochida smiled. "You still seem to be down today, so why don't we pay Tsuna a visit?"

"Sawada?" Ryohei seemed to brighten suddenly. "Um… right. But why?"

Mochida really wanted to fall over in shock. At first, this guy was distressed about his lost sister and friend, and now he's completely forgot about it. What great friends this Tsuna has, doesn't he?

"What?" The Exorcist folded his arms. "I was in your rescue party. Naturally, I want to see if that kid is doing fine. I don't like it when someone dies on me just when I rescue them. Kinda defeats the purpose, don't you think?"

"Um, yeah."

"Well, you should come, too," He said hesitantly. "I mean, this boy must be a good friend of yours, and I guess coming to see him would make you less nervous."

All he received was a small grunt of approval from the boxer. Now he seemed to have quieted down a bit, Mochida thought. The glares were not as intense, only wary. They took the elevator down, and soon, they arrived at the same doors they had just left. A tall woman clad entirely in white was standing watch from the doors, eyes scrutinizing anyone who passed by the doors. She adjusted her large afro of brown hair and tapped rhythmically on her clipboard. Her hoop earrings jangled when she turned to see the two boys returning to the infirmary.

"Oh, you two," her voice was stern, but sweet enough to be charming to most men. "Did Ms. Uni do something to you again, Mochida?"

"Um, no!" the Exorcist denied quickly. Generally, the boy always got on the said supervisor's nerves and would end up with a gracious bruise to the face whenever he did get on her nerves. It didn't help when Captain Bookman told her that they were going to meet the supervisors earlier.

"Actually, Matron," Mochida tried to answer despite sputtering. "I just wanted to see the boy we left here."

"Oh, the boy?" the Matron glanced into the infirmary's glass doors. "He's still asleep, so talking to him will not do anything."

"We're just worried about him," Mochida tried to argue. Generally, the Matron was very adamant on not allowing too many visitors for any of her dear patients, and a lot of prodding was involved just to get a measly fifteen minutes with any invalid. He looked at Ryohei, who was almost silent. And he was screaming and shouting and kicking just an hour ago…

"Well," the woman swayed, her earrings jingling with her. "I hope you understand that the patients need their recovery time as much as possible."

"We're not going to hurt anyone," Ryohei finally spoke. "We're just going to take quick look and then we'll leave."

"Um, yeah," Mochida grinned. "What he said."

The Matron frowned at him for a while and then stared back at her clipboard, and then at the new guy who was standing closely behind him. With the usual charming smile on her face, she opened the doors to them.

"Fine," She agreed rather quickly. "But because this cute young man behind you is new. You only get fifteen minutes for today. Both of you."

"Thank you," Mochida gave a small respectful bow of the head before hurrying into the wards. Ryohei did the same and went running after the Exorcist ahead.

Tsuna's room wasn't too far in the back, so the run wasn't as tiring. The boy had the luck of not too many injuries, perhaps a handful of bruises, burns, and cuts. He didn't lose too much blood, either, much to both boys' relief. He was merely asleep, and was bound to stay that way for quite some time.

Mochida took a seat on the far side of the room, and merely observed. Tsuna wasn't his best friend, and all he could do was offer Ryohei, Tsuna's best friend, a chance to see Tsuna for himself. Observe, Mochida thought to himself.

The first thing he could see was the brotherly relationship. Tsuna was small, and perhaps naturally weaker than Ryohei, the large brawny boxer of the this group, and it should be natural that the strong should protect the weak ones, like an older brother to his siblings. But something was off. Ryohei must be a strong person, so why was he carrying a demeanor that didn't seem to be entirely a relationship of siblings? From Mochida's eyes, it seemed slightly like respect for the younger boy, as if Tsuna was the stronger one.

"Tsuna seems to be doing well for the first day in the infirmary," he spoke up, and Ryohei's attention was directed at him. The Exorcist got out of his chair, and stepped up to Tsuna's bed.

"I didn't get to hear the full story of how you got here," Mochida continued. "but I can see you respect him as someone higher than you."

"Of course I have respect for him," the boxer shrugged. "He's extreme. That's why."

"Really," the Exorcist glanced back at Tsuna. "Is he stronger than you?"

"Sawada's an extreme boss," Ryohei puffed. "He can do almost anything! He's more extreme than I am!"

"Extreme," Mochida smiled. "So he's strong after all."

"He's gotten better ever since he joined my extreme boxing club," The boxer grinned. "He trains extremely hard so he can be like me! We become strong so we can protect our loved ones!"

Just like us, Mochida thought.

"So was he always like this?"

"No, not at all," Ryohei answered. "He used to be 'No-Good Tsuna,' and he was an extreme wimp. He could never hurt a fly."

"That's… shocking," The black haired boy laughed nervously. "But if he was such a weak person, then why did he become stronger."

The boxer folded his arms, his face in a small frown. "You sure ask a lot of extreme questions!"

"Of course," Mochida smiled reassuringly. "You were glaring at me the entire time we came to this infirmary. So was everyone else when we were going to the supervisors. It would be natural that I would ask you what happened to you to make you hate me and Supervisor Byakuran."

"Well, your reasons make extreme sense," Ryohei smiled sheepishly. "I guess… I'm not extreme at storytelling like the extreme baseball dude. Plus, I can't remember extreme details, because I don't pay attention to things like that. If you extremely want a good story, ask Yamamoto. He's extremely good with kids and he likes to tell stories!"

"Oh," Mochida looked away back at Tsuna. "I see. I guess I'll ask him about it sometime soon. Thank you for telling me though, Ryohei."

"No, extremely thank you," the boxer gave a small smile.

"I just hope Tsuna will get better, " Mochida smiled back at the sleeping brunette, and he looked at the clock. "Oh, we better leave before Matron Iris comes in yelling for us."

"Really? I thought she was a nice lady."

"No, please. Let's go. She's only nice to us because you're new here."

* * *

Hibari continued on his aimless course of reaching his designated quarters. Uni was no slouch, but she merely gave him graciously detailed directions to get to the quarters, and then she turned back to leave elsewhere. Not that the prefect minded. He most preferred to be alone wherever he went, unless it was Kusakabe or Hibird.

Just outside, he could see the "sun" setting, and nighttime approaching upon this underground city. He must commend whoever developed such a technology to artificially create day and night. The technology must be more advanced here, if someone could do something as amazing as a fake sky.

The prefect was too busy staring out the window to hear a person sprinting in the halls, barreling straight at him. The impact nearly knocked some wind out of him, unexpectedly, and he took a step back, arms raised to begin fighting if he had to.

"Hahi!"

The first thing Hibari could notice was a big metal box, and a mop of disheveled brown hair and widely rimmed glasses atop a bundle of clothes. A little creature, he assumed, until the creature flinched and got up, gingerly picking up the metal box. Now that the creature was standing, Hibari realized that this messy creature was a girl.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" the voice of a young girl squeaked, and she fled past the prefect, muttering about something else entirely while the metal box rattled with many sounds as she trotted away rapidly. Hibari merely kept his own position, standing in the middle of the hallway. He was thoroughly confused, and had sworn something was not right here. No matter, he thought, and he turned on his heel to lurk in the hallways, observing the people and animals between.

* * *

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Now, in comparison to my previous version of this story, I put a little more thought as to why the cast of Reborn ended up here in the -Man world. Of course, that ended up making the story much more darker (i.e. killing some beloved characters).

[2] Personally, I like using Mochida as a high-tier supporting character because not only does he not have much stuff on himself to begin with, but also because I like working with characters like Mochida. I'm that type of person who has to put some character that needs redemption, and generally, a lot of fanfics do not feature Mochida with any chance of changing for the better. There was a reason why Mochida ends up being affiliated with Tsuna's Vongola in the future arc, but that was never explained (I doubt it will ever be), so I like to think to myself how that happened.

* * *

**A/N:**_ I'm slowly bringing back the "dead" characters, so you may keep your hopes up and guess who'll be back next, but not everyone will be back, due to circumstances. Also picking up a few other stories I've sorta abandoned, and rewriting portions of it._

_For the meantime, been prepping for things in school for spring break, and then tumbling on Tumblr for the rest of the hours (I learned a lot from that place). Then landed on weaboostories (the new site), and I have to really feel sorry for those people who experience these things. Admittedly, I used to be over the top with Japanese culture to an extent, but then that deflated considerably (look at how I write now to my fanfics back then)._


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